The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-08 00:00:00

GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

An extraordinary general meeting of the proprietors
of the Great Northern Railway Company was held yes-
terday, -at the London Tavern. Mr. Denison, M.P.,
the chairman of the company, presid.d.
The objects of the meeting were:-
1. To confirm the forfeiture declared by the directors
of certain shares upon which calls are in arroar, the re-
quired notices of the forfeiture of which have been given
to the respective proprietors; and to determine the
course to be adopted for disposing of the shares so for-
feited by a sale or cancelling, and re-issue or otherwise,
and upon such terms as the meeting shall direct, for the
purpose of raising the capital represented by such
shares.

2. To determine the course to be adopted with respect
to the 40,000 London and York Extension scrip shares
of 251. each—issued in December, 1845, and by a reso-
lution of the general meeting of 13th August, 1847, con-
solidated two into one registered Great Northern share—
to induce the holders thereof to pay calls to be made
thereon, that the capital which those shares represent •
may become available.
3. To approve an confirm, or otherwise, cet tain agree-
ments entered into by the directors with the Eastern.
Counties Railway Company, and the Boston, Stamford,
and Birmingham Railway Company, for securing to the
Great Northern trains the right of running ever the
Eastern Counties Company's line between Wisheach apd
Peterborough, thereby to supersede the neeesaitY orcon-
structing the parallel line trom Peterborough to Wis-
beach, agreed to be leased by the Great Northern Conn;
pany: and to compromise and dispense with such
With respect to the forfeited shares in arrear, the
number on which calls, up to and including the eighth
call, due November, 1848, was stated to be 35,076. Of
this number 6,169 are shares, against the proprietors of
which actions are pending for the recovery of calla in
arrear, and 2,473 are shares on which security has been
given for payment of calls in arrear. The -proposition,
of the directors was (deducting the 6,169 and the 2,373)
to confirm the forfeiture of 26,534 Great Northern rd--
gistered 251. shares under the following condition,.
viz.:—To issue in lieu of each forfeited Share two scrip
shares of 121. 10s. each; that these 121. 10s. scrip shares
should have credit for 2/. 10s. as a deposit paid thereon,
I and should bear interest, or preference dividend, at the
rate of 5 per cent. per annum in perpetuity, and should
be issued to the proprietors of Great Northern shares
and A and B half-shares, who stand registered in the
company's books on the 7th of June, rateably to the
number of shares held by each proprietor, which would
give in the proportion of about one scrip share to four
whole shares, or to eight A and B half-shares.
The effect of the proposition would be, as the Chair-
man stated, to give those who took the scrip shares a
perpetual guaranteed dividend of 6i per cent. The
average amount paid upon the shares proposed to be
forfeited was stated as 51. per share.
After some discussion the meeting confirmed the for-
feiture of the 26,534 in the following terms:—" 1. That
the forfeiture of the 26,534 shares be and hereby is
confirmed, and that they be cancelled or sold, or other-
wise disposed of by cancelling, at the discretion of the
directors."

With respect to the 40,000 London and York Exten-
sion scrip shares of 25/. each, issued under date of the
Ist December, 1845, with 21. los. per share paid, and
which by a resolution of the half-yearly general meeting
of August 13, 1847, were to have been consolidated into
and registered as 20,000 Great Northern shares of 251.
each, with 51. paid up, representing a capital of 500,0001.,
and which are held as follows:

Number of scrip shares consolidated two into
one Great Northern share, and registered...
Number still in scrip

7,198
... 32,802

Total shares as above ... ... 40,000
The directors proposed that these shares should be con-
vertcd into 40,000 scrip shares of 121. 10s. each, with a
deposit of 21. 10s. per share as already paid thereon, and
be credited with the further sum of ss. per share for two
years' interest accrued to 30th June inst., and be entitled
to 5 per cent. per annum interest or preference dividend
in perpetuity; and further, that these 12/. 10s. scrip
shares should be issued to the holders of existing London
and York extension scrip, who were to send into the
company's offices their scrip to be exchanged for an
allotment letter, authorising the company's banker to
receive the first call of 21. ss. payable from the 25th to
the 30th June, making with the deposit and the ss. in-
terest credited, 51. per share paid.
Upon this proposition the directors moved the follow-
ing resolution :—" 2. That the 40,000 London and York
Extension scrip shares of 2.51. each, dated Ist December,
1845, and subsequently by resolution of half-yearly
general meeting of 13th August, 1847, reduced to
20,000 shares of 251. by consolidation of two into one
Great Northern share, and repre►enting a reduced
capital of 500,000/., be converted into and exchanged for
40,000 scrip shares of 121. 10s. each, bearing 5 per cent.
interest or preference dividend in perpetuity, upon the
terms and conditions recommended by the directors to
this meeting, and that any remaining unclaimed be
offered to Great Northern registered proprietors rateably,
or be otherwise disposed of at the discretion of the
directors."

Considerable objection was taken to this mode of rais-
ing the money required, and several of the shareholders
considered a small call would be much better than such
a creation of preference capital.
Mr. CORRIE proposed that the question should be
adjourned till the general meeting in August, as he
thought so important a matter should not be determined
at a meeting at which so few of the proprietors were

present.
The original resolution was, upon a show of hands,
carried.

Mr. Con= then demanded a ballot.

Mr. Corrie and Mr. Morgan were appointed scruti-
neers; and on the ballot being concluded, and the numbers
computed, there appeared for Mr. Currie's amendment,
20 shareholders, holding in all 2,315 shares; and for
the original motion, 61 shareholders, holding in all 6,982
shares. The original motion was therefore declared to
be carried.

It was next resolved (the resolution should have fol-
lowed the one confirming the forfeiture of the shares)—
" That in lieu of, and to the amount of capital repre-
sented by, the Great Northern 251. shares—of which the
forfeiture has been confirmed by this meeting—there be
issued, upon the terms and conditions recommended by
the directors to this meeting, scrip shares of 121.
each, bearing five per cent. interest or preference divi-
dend in perpetuity."
This resolution was carried. _

A vote of thanks was then given to the chairman, and
the meeting broke up.

THE CHOLERA AT PLYMOUTH.
JUNE 6.—We regret to state that this direful disease
has at length made its appearance at Plymouth. It
appears from tho facts that have been communicated to
us that about mid-day onTuesday the American packet-
ship American Eagle, Captain Chadwick, arrived here
from London and Portsmouth, bound to New York, with
about three hundred emigrants on board. On Tuesday
afternoon the ship put into the Sound, owing to the
cholera having broken out on board. It appears they
left London on Thursday, the 31st of May, all perfectly
well, and the first case of cholera, which is of the con-
firmed Asiatic character, was that of a German child,
and soon after her father was attacked, and died. These
parties came from Rotterdam, where the cholera has
prevailed. Six other passengers were soon after taken
ill, and died before the arrival of the ship. Another died
on Tuesday evening, and more during the night.
These made nineteen cases since the disease broke out
on Saturday; and this afternoon there were about thirty
more cases of persons suffering under the premonitory
symptoms, of diarrhoea, &c. Immediately on the
arrival of the American Eagle in the Sound, the Ame-
rican consul, Thomas Were Fdx, Esq., sent Mr. Francis
Fox, surgeon, on board, and having,afterwan's consulted
with the Mayor, that gentleman also sent Mr. Freeman,
surgeon, on board, on behalf of the town and corporation,
both of whom confirmed the statements as to the wide-
spreading existence of the disease, which prevailed en-
tirely among the poorer class of passengers. Application
was then made to Sir William Hall Gage, the port-
admiral, for a hulk to be sent alongside, in which to
removetbe n oy tahl eNsai cvk. al
Hospital,
ae
sn,
byE s q. ,
the
M.AdDm. surgeon
Admiral's
arsorde
rtso,
dispatched on board during the night, and his report
coinciding with those of the other surgeons, the Tyne
frigate was ordered to be got ready, and will be towed
down to the Sound this afternoon, and serve as an hos-
pital for the sick, who will be removed into it as soon as
they fall ill. Every attention will be
.paid to them by
Mr. Francis Fox, who has been authorised to avail him-
self of any further medical assistance he may require.
The dead bodies of the persons who first died were
taken out several miles beyond the Breakwater and
there sunk; but as it is thought unadvisable to pursue
this course, endeavours are being made to find a suit-
able place of interment for those wo addhoma to the
fur-
ther victims of this subtle disease.
oc-
casion, we learn that all the crew, 17 in number, have
tbhee
mustthgenerale
distress which such a melancholy circumstance
refused to clean the ship. These men are American
sailors, having been engaged at New York from that
city to England and back. A flag is to be hoisted when
th
cabinwha t
passengers assistance the
as
well as others are most anxious to leave the ship, and
captain
hulk Domesptainmayreqdwuoiren to
require. Of
ot.
asccoeurtarsien
many of them have doubtless done so. When our cor-
respondent was on board yesterday there were more
than 20 shore boats alongside, and the watermen were
holding out every inducement to the people on board to
leave the ship. Sir W. H. Gage, the port-admiral, and
Captain T. Nicolas, captain superintendent of the vie.;
tualling-yard, as well as the authorities generally, have
done, and are doing, everything that they can to render
assistance in this emergency. At the time the cholera
was raging at sea, we regret to say it had broken out
within a few miles of this town at a little fishing town
called Newton Ferrers or Noss, which is situated on the
bank of the Yealm, about eight miles from Plymouth.
In that place five persons have died of cholera. The
weather has been remarkably fine of late, and the at-
mosphere sultry and stifling. To-day it has rained a
good deal, but there is still a pressure on the air, which
the rain has failed to remove.

RE-APPEARANCE OF THE CHOLERA.—At an in•
quest held yesterday at the Middlesex hospital, before
Mr. H. M. Wakley, a juror asked the Coroner if it waa
true that the cholera, after expiring in London, had
again made its appearance? The Coroner replied that
he was sorry to say it had; for on one day last week he
held three inquests on persons who had died of Asiatic
cholera, and the day before yesterday (Wednesday) he
bad a similar case ic Brentwood. The juror inquired if
it was quite safe to view the bodies, as there were doubts
whether it was or was not infectious. The Coroner au-
s wered that no one need in the slightest degree fear
contamination; and he might mention that no person
who was properly clothed, fed, and cleansed, need fear
the cholera. In nine cases out of ten, or indeed all dm
1 cases he had seen, the disease had been brought on by
want of food.