The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-17 00:00:00

AN EX-T

F YORK.

" How now, how now ? what say :he citizens ?"
Richard HI.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Long before- the insatiable railway mania pos•
sensed the greedy souls of men, and at a time when the
worthy, yet unwontedly cautious, citizens of old Ebor
preferred paying forfeit to accepting the honoured
though somewhat costly post of chief magistrate to the
ancient city, it was my good fortune to see one of our
tradesmen princes step forward from behind his counter
and—after fulfilling the duties of Lord Mayor in a style
well worthy the craft to which he belonged, on their de-
volving upon him in rotation—volunteer to repeat the
onerous task of dispensing law and venison in the magni-
ficent old Mansion-house of York. Uits
The tradesman to whom I allude, and who so man-
fully refilled tho magisterial chair from motives of pure
liberality and good citizenship, at a time when the post
seemed likely to go Legging, was Mr. George Hudson;
and I venture to assert, that to no man was there ever
accorded a more unanimous expression of approval and
admiration at his uniform impartiality, courtesy, and
kindliness, whether presiding on the bench, or at that board
where hospitality reigned unbounded, than was justly
bestowed upon his bluff and burly Lordship.
To a mind and manner equally and eminently based
upon common sense and good feeling Mr. Hudson, at the
time I write or, was liberal, patriotic, and open-hearted
in the extreme; and, though unflinchingly consistent in his
political principles, to no public functionary could there
possibly attach less imputation of party bias or undue
exercise of influence at any of the severely contested
elections in which he took part, than to the subject of
our short memoir, or reminiscence.
And when—in the variable hemisphere of L. S. D.—
" The winter of our discontent was made
Glorious summer by this son of York,"
as it was to thousands, solely by the power of his com-
prehensive views and utter contempt for unworthy pecu-
niary considerations, when coming in juxta-position with
vast undertakings—aye! to thousands upon thousands
without any reference to the speculating fraternity—
that locust herd of sunshine who gave their flattery but
not their friendship in return for the bounty scattered
through his genius—then the plaudits that had erewhile
resounded over the hospitable board of the Mansion-
house swelled into an anthem of Mammon• worship and
hateful sycophancy, as nauseating
to a manly mind as it
has been proved fickle and worthless in the sequel.
For, it is evidently to the sad fact, that—
" All the clouds that lower'd upon our house
Have (not) been quite in the deep bosom of the ocean
buried,"
and that " merry meetings," and joyous dividends on
railway stock,' are not quite so rife as. of yore, that the
main outcry against Mr. Hudion is to he attributed,
rather than to any frivolous, yet reprehensible irregu-
larity in accounts, to be laid to the charge of his staff,
but to which, in the multiplicity of engagements and in-
cessant dunning at brain the chief was necessarily sub-
jected to, I opine, even Joe Hume himself could have
but afforded an occasional glance, but nothing like a
daily and efficient scrutiny.
With this I have little concern, and from the facts of
the case as they appear on paper and in figures, imagine
Mr. Hudson need have quite as little. But, in testifying
to a long career of good fellow and citizenship, active
traits of a suc-
cessful and loyal
benevolence, gratuitous service to many a friend in rail-
way
matters,(ergo, vaintudptehrea tuedn a!)ffecßtreidas h manly
tradesman
gentleman, I can only hope you will pardon the liberty
I take in addressing you so familiarly, and believe me,
Sir, your most obedient servant,
SYLVAN US.

Normandy, April 14, 1849.

MR. HUDSON AND THE COM-
MITTEE OF INVESTIGATION.
(From the Era.)
In the extraordinary history of Mr. Hudson, whose
name will always be associated with British enterprise,
no event has excited public attention more than a charge
which first appeared in the Times newspaper, and has
since undergone official investigation—a charge of
having sold to the company of which he was the
chairman his own shares at prices above the market
quotations. The outcry against Mr. Hudson has been
very loud, and the comments upon his conduct very bit-
ter. At first' public condemnation was so strongly ex-
pressed, that his very existence, as the greatest railway
swepte
in his own defence, and
private
charactertm e
IT r authority,.
Ht.
ure
de
honestysmo enda to be
s ns
co
ernd
theard
it is not the custom in this country to condemn any man
before he is tried.
There are penalties attending all great successes, and
great is the envy which prosperity excites in those who
have been less fortunate. It is not, therefore, to be won-
dered at that the first accusation against the honour and
integrity of so influential an individual and so lucky a
person as Mr. Hudson, should be readily taken up by the
multitude, with whom "the world," or "fortune," has
dealt less favourably, and echoed by the million of petty
mortals who are at all times delighted at the downfal of
greater, and, it may be, better people than themselves.
Sir. Hudson's high position and wealthy state—the num-
ber of his shares, the number of his acres, his mansion at
Albert-gate, his seat in Parliament, his chairs at Rail-
way Boards, his distinguished friends, and his political
compeers—these were all calculated to make him liable
to attacks from those who saw, or fancied they saw, a
vulnerable spot in his character, and we wonder that he
has not suffered,from!the slings and arrows of the multi-
tude before this. But George Hudson must be no com-
mon man to have gained his present strength, and it will
be no common assault that will overcome it. Nothing
but his own mideeds can give his natural adversaries the
advantage over him, and now for the first time his trans-
actions have been brought into question and disrepute.
Let us see what he has done.
Committeeenoefe Imnvaedsetigtahteiiornraepppnoritn, thehddtowihneqnuiwree
into the
thesubjt have
consider the malignant rum
airs and the grave charges
which have, during
this investigation, been made against
Air. Hudson, and when, moreover, we consider the hos-
tile feelngs which pervaded the minds of the majority of
the committee against him
report, which although it is unfa-
vourable in many respects, completely exonerates
chargeshim
which were so
from the grave
industriously pro-
by the perusal of the wo are considerably relieved
pagated against him.
The fact is, that Mr. Hudson has mistaken the duties
of a trustee; and, en passant, we may observe, that if the
strict duties of trustee, as the law interprets them, were
to be enforced, we would venture to state that very few
trustees would be found who have strictly performed
their duties; and certain we are, that no railway director
or trustee could be found who would pass unscathed
through the ordeal. As Mr. Hudson himself observes in
his address to the shareholders of the York, Newcastle,
and Berwick Railway:—
" So far from considering myself in the light of a trus-
tee, and thereby disqualified from acting in any other
character, I may say with truth, that I have never hesi-
tated to take upon myself
any amount of personal re-
sponsibility the interests 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."
Mr. Hudson very properly observes, that if the strict
duties of a trustee are to be enforced, be must lose, not
the precise amount he obtained for selling his shares to
the company, but cancel the transaction altogether, re-
gardless of the heavy loss in which the altered circum-
ehtsnoldodefor
s; t haweni
Id; times
be
now
snowveo
ungenerous
r ue
remains
tiihnsvotnlvahese
thoimt
seen and k
whetherea drthisant
at
gbh
eee
sns
htffasenrt ces
of his offer.
The Time; who first raised this tumult, has the ho-
nesty to say, " Neither the other officials nor the share-
holders must hope to escape censure under the cover
of a personal onslaught upon Mr. Hudson. The system
is to blame. It was a system without rule, without order,
without even a definite morality. In 1845. respectable
men did monstrous things, and were thought the
very
clever. Thousands rejoiced in premiums
'k
which
cer coly-
believed to have been puffed up by mere terei
ti_tr,tB
an
lusion, and imposture." We admit that
instinct and a principle," and that Mr. Hudson' has made
a mistake: he himself expressed his conviction that there
was something wrong in the transaction immediately
1846
and that was in . Let us
after it was completed,
'
turn to the investigation. The money paid to him was
131,7671. 9s. 3d., and the profit he made was 7,1851., out
of which' be returned .2,874/. The shares which Mr.
Hudson sold were valued by a Mr. Plews, an official, and
Mr. Close, the secretary, states:—
" Mr. Flews was requested, at a board meeting of this
company, by Mr. Hudson, to furnish a valuation of the
value of the Great North of England shares to this com-
pany. Mr. Flews sent me a document (exhibited) giv-
ing the value of the shares. I added the commission and
the stamps of my own accord, but Mr. Hudson was not
aware of it. The money was paid to Mr. Hudson's ac-
count at the York Union Bank, the date of payment 27th
of October, 1846; first payment, 81,100/. on the 27th of
October; second payment, the 27th of November,
50,767/. 93. 3d., which closed the account. Mr. Hudson
?time to me some time in the month of January last,
and stated to me that, as times were so materially
changed, in making up the accounts of the Great North
of England purchase, I mast deduct any profit he had
received on that transaction. He afterwards said, be-
fore I had the accounts made up, that he had recon-
sidered the matter, and that the account was not to be
altered, in consequence of his having advanced out of
his private account a sum of upwards of 16,0001. on
behalf of this company, in the purchase of West Dur-
ham shares,' for which he had no sanction of the pro-
prietors; and on the 19th of February last, being the
day before the meeting, Mr. Hudson came to me and
said he was sure there was something wrong in the ac-
count of the 15/. shares; that I was to debit his account
with 1/. per share uncalled on the 15/. shares on the
2,874 shares which he had sold to the company, and
that, after the meeting, he would go into the account
with me."
Mr. Hudson says to the committee:—
" Before I made the sale or fixed the price at which I
would dispose of the shares of' the company, Mr. news
and Mr. Oxley were requested by me and the board to
furnish an estimate at what price it would be advantage-
ous for the company to purchase the shares, to the best
of my belief and conviction I charged them at a lower
price than that estimate; I did not then think, nor do I
now think, that, in as much as the company were coin
palled to be purchasers in 1850. my position did prevent
me being a seller, at a proper price, as any other indivi-
dual, and I also felt I had strong claims on the company
for the best price they could afford to give, inasmuch as
I had given up to the company a very large sum, guaran-
teed, which I held in my own right, amounting to 3,2501.
a year, which would have produced me a very consider-
able income."
Again, he adds:—
" Experience has taught me that in attempting to buy
any large quantity of good shares, it is utterly impos-
sible to obtain them without materially advancing the
price."