The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-10 00:00:00

SICILY.

The Liberia of Naples states from Palermo, that
great preparations for war are going on there. The
Sicilian army is to amount to 49,000 men ; an ord-
nance manufactory is established at Palermo, which
furnishes ten twelve-pounders per month. Large
French ordnance is placed to defend the port. General
thEaosrawsxr commands the Valley Catania. Gen.
TROBRIAND has been named Marshal of Sicily. The
fortifications around Palermo are actively carried on.
Ditches, parapets, mines, and barricades are con-
structed under the direction of the military engineers.
Forty thousand persons of all ranks, peasants as
well as nobles, men as well as women, are at work
there.

TO THE SHAREHOLDERS OF
THE YORK, NEWCASTLE, AND BERWICK
RAILWAY COMPANY.
at
nht
yeolrt
rheothefnhea
conductl rmvyoee
fne
oercbEetej' ießnhtdcgogaat lstihahotl
been
fe
lededai
ernyenspophSiarrt
shares,
ehht
sei
ao,o
sf2net
0,
ht
trieahenoodprcflrocisFm,
na Acelmeibppir
atroutli
of the
e a
r a9tynh,
appointed
lapBsoiGt4
indeedn9rand
inquiry affecting myself, I find that
viewed as improper, by reason
of my being deemed to stand towards the company in
the relation of a trustee. The committee proceed to
state, " that they are of opinion that the sum charged
by Mr. Hudson for these shares ought to be reduced
to the sum he actually paid for them, and the diffe-
rence repaid utith interest."
.It not my wish to impugn the reasoning or
question the conclusion of the committee; but I must
be allowed to state that this opinion of the position
which I occupied in connexion with the company, is
one now presented to my mind for the first time. I
have always thought it my duty to watch over and
further the interests of the company to the best of my
power. I hope and believe that I have done so.
But I never thought myself restrained from entering
into personal engagements either with the company,
or with others, by reason of the position I stood in
towards the company, any more than if I had been
an ordinary proprietor. So far from considering
myself in the light of a trustee, and thereby disqua-
lified from acting in any other character, I may say
with truth, that I have never hesitated to take upon
myself any amount of personal responsibility the in-
terests of the company might require ; and I trust I
may be forgiven for calling this to mind, when I am
charged with having, in the character of a trustee,
made a profit of the company.
Itwdiilffil
difficulty
your
ooturokreucollection that at a period of
great
thethen
e responsibility
necessary
for
of giving personally thepognuamraynstef
helecompleting the arrangement for raising the funds
requisite to extend the railway communication north-
ward to Newcastle. The risk was mine, and I was
entitled to the advantages which ultimately arose to
myself and the other guaranteeing parties. When
the interests of the company required, in my opinion,
that those advantages should be relinquished, I did
not hesitate to become a party to an arrangement
with the company for surrendering them ; and by
that surrender I sacrificed a considerable annual
income.

Other instances, in which the same principle has
governed my conduct, and not to the disadvantage of
the company, will present themselves to your re•
collection. I advert to them for the purpose of show-
ing on what principle I have hitherto acted.
It is impossible, therefore, for me to adopt the con-
clusion at which the committee have art ived ; for as
far as my own view of my position is concerned, that
conclusion is incorrect. But if their view of my posi•
tion as a trustee is right, then it should be carried out;
not, however, as I imagine, by my repaying the
difference with interest, , which, after the cor-
rection of an admitted error, would be a
comparatively trifling amount, but by can-
celling the whole transaction. This course would
involve a much larger pecuniary sacrifice on my part
than that recommended by the committee ; for if it
be adopted, I receive back at a period of depression
shares which in better times I could have disposed of
to advantage, and the company will have their money
at their command at a time when it may be benefi-
cially employed.
But I care nothing for pecuniary considerations in
this matter. I must pursue the course which my own
feelings and judgment point out to be correct, under
the circumstances in which I find myself placed—
circumstances to me of a most painful nature, but in
which I have become involved without the slightest
idea on my part that I was doing anything deserving
reprehension.—l have the honour to be your most
obedient servant,

GEORGE HUDSON.