The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-22 00:00:00

Irentiv

LONDON, TUESDAY. MAY 22, 1849.

The committee appointed to investigate the affairs
of the South-Eastern Railway Company have pub-
lished a report embodying the result of their inqui-
ries. It is an able and well-considered document,
reflecting the highest credit on the gentlemen who,
at the instance of their brother shareholders, under-
took that onerous and important duty. It is con-
ceived in a spirit of the utmost impartiality, and it
would, indeed, be fortunate for all parties interested in
railway property, if the committees appointed, or those
which may hereafter be appointed, to report on the
management of the several properties, were to exhibit
an equal disposition to do justice to all men, with-
out fear, favour, prejudice, or affection.
Hitherto it has been too much the practice to appoint
on such committees persons who have evinced a
strong spirit of partisanship, who have come promi-
nently forward as the direct accusers of the directors,
who, in place of being selected as judges, should
more properly have exercised the functions of prose-
cuting counsel. Such parties are more anxious to
substantiate the accuracy of their own statements, to
prove that the charges they had preferred were well
founded, than to elicit the real facts of the
case, and to deliver an unbiassed decision
thereon. It is true that it • would he far more
for the intereAs of the shareholders to show
that their fears had, to a certain extent, been
unwarranted, that the posi,lon and prospects of the
companies were infinitely better than had previously
been supposed, that the directors had been actuated by
la disinterested and honest desire to execute the
trusts reposed in them for the advantage of the
general body. Such results, we say,.would be highly
beneficial to the parties concerned, and would ma-
terially increase the value of their shares ; but it
would not gratify the vanity of the accusers, or

promote the objects ,of a well-organized party, whose
efforts are directed towards a general de-
preciation of railway property, that the
Bears of the Stock Exchange may realise enormous
profits at the expense of those who have invested
the savings of their industry—the future provisions
for old age and for their help'ess families, in those
great national undertakings. We trust that a better
rule may henceforth be adopted, and that the share-
holders who may be called upon to appoint a com-
mittee of investigation will select persons whose
minds are uninfluenced by prejudice or bias, and who
will return an honest and a conscientious verdict, ac
cording to the evidence that may be adduced before
them.

The committee of the South-Eastern Company
exhibited a sound discretion, and praiseworthy firm-
ness, in rejecting the attempts that were made to take
the investigation, in certain respects, out of their
hands, and thus, as they justly term it, " to subor-
dinate the duly constituted authority of the committee,
to the unauthorised pretensions of individuals." Had

they yielded in any respect to these strange applica-
tions it would undoubtedly have " impeded the legiti-
mate course of the inquiry," and introduced the " in-
jurious action of personal prejudice." And the favour•

able result of their proceedings, and the consequent

improvement in the value of South-Eastern stock,
may, in a great degree, be ascribed to their judicious
conduct in these particulars.
The result of the inquiries has been completely to
disprove the charges that had been so pertinaciously
preferred against the Chairman of the company and
some of the directors. With respect to the former
gentleman this statement is made:—
" Your committee cannot conclude this report with-
out special allusion to the-Chairman of the company.
who, it must be admittedc' has been as it were on his
trial. They have already sh iwn the utter groundless-
ness of the charges which have been alleged, or rather
suggested, affecting his integrity in the administratioo
of the finances of the company. They, moreover, feel
bound to state their conviction that, notwithstanding
errors of judgment, and an undue assumption of indi
vidual responsibility, his conduct has been honourable
throughout, and marked by a sincere, uufluiching, and
—excepting in his character of a very large proprietor—
a disinterested devotion to the interests of the South-
Eastern Company."
This is indeed a full, complete, and satisfactory
acquittal of the gentleman who has filled that impor-
tant situation for nearly four years, and his valuable
services will consequently still be available to the
company. It was true that there might have been
"errors of judgment." Sums had been charged to
capital that in the opinion of the committee ought to
have been placed to the revenue account ; there might
have been "an undue assumption of individual re•
sponsibility," but there was nothing to justify the
outcry that had been raised to impeach his honour or
integrity, or to call for his exclusion from the board.
The same might be asserted with equal truth respect-
ing another gentleman who lately filled equally im-
portant situations, whose " conduct was honourable
throughout, and marked by a sincere, unflinching, and
excepting in his character of a very large proprietor,
a disinterested devotion" to the interests of the
companies over which he presided. Prejudice
and personal hostility, however, prevailed against Mr.
HUDSON, his character was calumniated, his motives
misinterpreted, he was called upon to resign his
offices, and the natural result has followed—the value
of the shares of the companies have been materially
deteriorated, while South Eastern stock has consi-
derably improved. It requires little argument to
show which result has been most beneficial for the
shareholders.
With respect to the sums that have been carried to
the account of capital in place of revenue, and which,
according to the committee, during the three years
ending on the 31st of January last, amounted to
107,9321. 14s. 11d., they state " that they feel called
upon to deprecate strongly this mode of dealing with
the sums forming this amount in the books and ac-
counts of the company; it is in their opinion at
variance with every safe and sound principle of mer-
cantile economy."
Although entertaining such decided views on the sub-
ject, they very fairly insert the letter of Mr. MAO -
GREGOR, justifying the step, and " admit that there
is justice in the reasoning contained therein ;" but "it
is their decided opinion that such a course ought
never to be adopted without the previous knowledge
and sanction of the proprietors." Without in any
degree entering into the much disputed question
whether expenses of a certain character should be
fairly chargeable to capital or revenue, we may state
that the invariable practice, some years ago, was to
charge to capital all such sums as were expended for
the permanent and lasting benefit of the company,
and which did not realise immediate profits. Thus the
outlay in opening up new sources of traffic, which,
though carried on for the time being at a loss, yet
afforded a reasonable expectation of yielding an ulti-
mate profit—of running cheap trains for the purpose
of getting rid of a formidable rival—of paying interest
on capital not immediately productive, and a variety of
other charges of a similar character. It was consi-
dered in some degree analogous to the case of a
farmer who extensively manures his lands, or adopts
a new course of husbandry, which cannot within the
year repay the immediate outlay, but which will add
materially to his future profits, and prove highly
beneficial to all parties concerned. Such a person
would not suppose that he was carrying on his busi •
ness at a loss, or that he was living upon his capital,
and consequently bound to contract his personal ex-
penditure within the narrowest limits while waiting
for the fair results of this experiment. Neither did
the railway directors believe that they were acting
improperly in carrying such charges to the capital
account, and thereby spreading the payments over
future years.
There would be considerable inconvenience
in bringing iuch matters under the consi-
deration, of general meetings of the shareholders : a
panic might be excited that would unduly affect the
prices of shares ; statements of a very prejudicial
character might be made that would prove highly
injurious to the company's interests. The directors
were, therefore, accustomed to decide for themselves
as to the course that would ultimately prove most
beneficial, and if they acted fairly and bona fide,
without any sinister views of personal advantage,
it would be hard to condemn them for following the
ordinary practice, although that practice might
possibly be "more honoured in the breach than in
the observance." The committee, although adopting
a more stringent view, fully and completely
exonerate Mr. MACGREGOR from any personal impu-
tation ; and -in this respect we think they have acted
judiciously and discreetly, in accordance with the
real merits of the case, and the best interests of those
by whom they were selected, and we have n•
doubt that their opinions will, upon full considera
tion, be adopted by the community in general when
present prejudices have passed away, and an un-
biassed judgment is pronounced upon the railway
management of former years.

It appears by public announcement that there is to
be a meeting held at the Mechanics' Institute, South-
ampton• buildings, this evening, to endeavour to obtain
the repeal of what are usually called the taxes on
knowledge, or those more immediately affecting the
public press, namely, the Excise duty on paper, the
duty on advertisements, and the abolition of the news-
paper stamp duty. This meeting is convened by the
committee of the Compositors' Society, who invite
the attendance of master printers, newspaper pro-
prietors, compositors, pressmen, machinists, &c., and
it is stated that LUKE JAMES HANSARD, Esq. (for-
merly the Parliamentary printer) will preside on the
occasion.
Approving as we heartily do of the objects of the
meeting, we are of opinion that if any immediate
results are desired, or expected to ensue, it would be
wise to narrow the field of application, concentrating
the energies on one of the three grievances, namely
the repeal of the advertisement duty. There are
weighty reasons why it is preferable to select one im-
post for removal than several, and why the chance
of success is thereby greatly enhanced, for not only is
it usually found better to undertake one thing at a
time, but it must be remembered that there are many
sections of thie communit►, each putting in their claim
for special relief from taxation. The growers of barley
and the landowners require the abolition of the malt-
tax ; the growers of hops pray that the hop-duty may
he taken off ; those who love ale and porter urge that
both malt and hops may be duty free ; those interested
in the trade with China ask that the Customs duty upon
tea may be mitigated, which teetotalers and those con-
nected with the temperance movement strenuously se-

cond ; the manufacturers of soap say, take off the soap
tax ; those who establish baths and washhouses, and all
connected with sanitary improvements, second the

application. These latter also support the claims of
the glass manufacturers, and the inhabitant house-
holders generally, who say, abolish the tax upon light
by removing the window-tax. Each section of the

community considers itself the most entitled to relief;
and we should certainly be very glad to see them all
relieved, but few things are less likely than any very

sweeping reductions in the budget of 1849. Even if
the Chancellor would spare from his estimates a sum

equal to the united amount of the paper tax, adver-
tisement duty, and newspaper stamps (something like
a million and a quarter), it is still more unlikely that

he would accord all the relief to one section of

applicants ; but if those connected with
the press urge strongly the importance of re-

moving one of their three burthens, selecting as that
one the smallest in amount, but really the largest in
ha baneful influences, the advertisement duty, the
hood could scarcely be withheld. The sum total
which it yields (only about 150,0001.) is so inconsi-
derable that the inability to spare the amount could
not be pleaded ; indeed, there would be no difficulty
in showing that the deficiency would be quite
counterbalanced by the increase in Excise paid
on the additional quantity of paper consumed,
by the increased number of advertisements, and
in the increased consumption of newspaper stamps.
the effect which the advertisement duty has in
checking the prixtice of advertising is clearly pointed
out in an able article upon the subject which appeared
in Tait's Magazine in the month of June last. It
is there shown that in the United States of America,
with a population of about twenty millions, the num-
ber of advertisements inserted in various media
exceeds ten millions annually ; whilst in the United
Kingdom, with a population of about thirty millions,
the annual number of advertisements is only two mil-
lions ; and the accuracy of the latter estimate is veri-
fied by a return recently made on the motion of Mr.
BROTHERTON, showing the exact number for the pre-
ceding year to be 2,020,100 for England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland, yielding in the gross amount
153,0151. only, from which has to be deducted the
cost of collection.

If the removal of the advertisement duty were
merely to increase the advertisements on a scale rela-
tively to the population, here would be an increase
from two millions to thirteen millions, but the writer
of the article shows on tolerably sound data, that
allowing for the difference in pursuits of the popula-
tion on the respective sides of the Atlantic, that this
would constitute grounds for a further thirteen mil-
lions, making twenty-six millions instead of two,
or a thirteenfold increase. Here forms the
basis of revenue more than covering for the
little deficiency by the concession of what is sought,
it being impossible for such an increase in advertising
to take place without more or broader sheets, and
without large numbers of persons interested in addi-
tional issues of newspapers, and of other parties in-
terested in obtaining additional newspapers. And
here, too, is the interest of the classes appealed to in
the notice greatly affected.
But it is the inequality of this tax which forms the
most unanswerable argument for its abolition. It
is probably the only fiscal regulation where the minor
is called upon to pay as much as the major.
An advertisement of two lines is charged the same
duty as one of two hundred or twice two hundred;
and whether the advertisement has reference to the
transactions of a large joint stock insurance or rail.
way company, involving interests to the extent of five
to six millions, or merely to that of an unemployed
workman seeking occupation, or a poor nursery-
maid wanting a situation, the impost is the same.
The inequality and hence injustice to proprietors of
newspapers, magazines, or other channels of adver-
tising is not less than that to the public, for here too
the minor has to pay the same as the major. He who
issues only 1,000 copies of any number of advertise-
ments must pay into the Treasury monthly the same
amount as he who issues 10,000 or 100,000 copies of
an equal number.
If the same inequality of payment were in opera-
tion with regard to paper and stamps, which exists as
to advertisements, the question would have made itself
more strongly felt, and would have earlier called for re-
dress, but no such inequality exists in those depart-
ments. No man is called upon to pay more than his
relative share of consumption of either paper or
stamps. Hence the argument of unequal pressure
cannot be substantiated against either of these items.
Indeed, with all the objections which may exist to
the newspaper stamp (and which we have no disposi-
tion to underrate) it must be acknowledged that it
is not without some mitigating circumstances. We
are all accustomed to consider the penny postage
stamp as a great boon. By it we are enabled to
transmit a letter free of further cost to a oistant
place, although in those cases the letter must be
limited to half an ounce in weight. Now the news-
paper stamp accomplishes for the newspaper that
which the postage stamp does for the letter, and this,
without restricting the weight to half an ounce, a
newspaper may weigh any number of ounces, pro-
vided the superficial measurement in square inches
does not exceed that laid down by the statute, and
this in ordinary cases is found ample, and even these
dimensions may be doubled by a further one half-
penny stamp whenever it is required. But this is
not the only superiority which the newspaper stamp
possesses over the postage stamp; there is another marked
superiority—that the latter, after being once sent
to the post-office, becomes utterly valueless,
whereas the former may be re-posted again and
the. T samehus
the n e
pwrsi newspapere
oafnfreinedetfiranniste.
anguaminb'erfroafnktiinmges
mission of newspapers through the post-offices of
the United Kingdom forms some counterbalance to
the disadvantage for which no similar set-off can be
shown in the advertisement duty.
The injurious effects of a penalty, or tax, upon the
unemployed for endeavouring to obtain employment
by making known their wants, which the advertise-
ment duty imposes, and the barrier which it forms to
beneficial interchanges of various kinds, render it so
objectionable in a moral as well as fiscal point of view,
that the meeting would do well to select it as the
primary object; for it should be borne in mind that,
if either or both the other items are pressed in con-
junction with the repeal of the advertisement duty,
the ground becomes then untenable that the de.
ficiency would be made up by increase in the other
departments.
We know that the subject has already been brought
under the notice of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
therefore the question will not be new to him, and he
will not be unprepared for renewed application.
Moreover, not only have parties connected with the
London newspaper press taken up the question, but
large numbers of the proprietors of country news-
papers in England and Scotland, as well as in Ireland,
and these, through the Members of the respective coun-
ties and boroughs with which they stand connected,
are prepared to urge forward the measure. Publish-
ers and authors are not less interested in this question
than the classes appealed to in the notice calling the
meeting, for the expense of making known works of
small price is known to absorb the total proceeds un-
less indeed the sale is very large, and thus a great im-
pediment is presented to publishing. Advertising is
as yet in its infancy. An examination into the avo-
cations and wants of the different classes of society
will show how numerous are their requirements, for
though the poet said—
" Man wants but little here below, nor wants that
little long,"
yet if his wants are little they are very miscella-
neous. Some want employment, some want services;
some want to buy, some to sell; some to let, some to
hire; some to borrow, some to lend; some to solicit
benevolence, some to find proper objects for their
bounty ; some require pupils, some tutors or go-
vernesses ; indeed to exhaust the list would form a
long catalogue. Anything which interposes a barrier
to the interchange of the services or good offices of
each other is baneful ; still more co that which inter.
poses a barrier even to the attempt at interchange.
The advertisement tax does both; moreover, it is
unequal and unjust in its pressure, and so trifling in
the amount yielded to the revenue, that the concentra-
tion of the meeting to this point, followed up by a
judicious course of action, could scarcely fail of being
successful.

In another column will he found extracts from a
pamphlet now on the eve of publication, relating to
our colonial possessions ; and, in a particular manner,