The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-03 00:00:00

THE SUN-, LONDON, FRIpAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1841.

—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Cooper) had perhaps had greater
opportunities than the Honourable Mover of the r,so-
lution, of intercourse with the Directors who had
the management of the concern, and he could say with
safety, and he said it with pleasure, that in his
life he had' never met with more honourable
and straightforward men, men of greater ability and as-
suidity, men whose assiduity and ability had enabled them
to overcome all the difficulties of the undertaking. The
Honourable Mover was perfectly correct in stating that
obstacles were presented in every stage of the work, for
not only the natural obstacles of the country through
which the line passed hai to be overcome, but the ob-
stacles of interested parties in endeavouring to prevent
the raising of the necessary funds to carry out this stu-
pendous work. From the day when the Bill passed up
to the present time, the shares of the Company had been
invariably at a discount : but, independently of that, ir-
respective of their overcoming all the difficulties which
that circumstance necessarily produced, the Directors
proceeded with a straightforward determination to dis-
charge their duty, and nothing but that determination and
the activity with which they proceeded to execute it, had
enabled them, in the depression under which the con- ,
cern was attempted to be kepi, to complete it the
manner they had done. There were no means so well
calculated to express the English manly feeling of the
town towards these gentlemen as to invite them to a
public dinner. He felt confident that the inhabitants of
Brighton would lieirtily concur in the proposition; that.
they would, one and all, concur in making it a recep-
tion worthy of the occasion, and an honour to those who
had so much benefited the town.—(Cheers.) He there-
fore had the greatest pleasure in seconding the, motion,
which he was sure would.be unanimously carried.
Mr. AIaTTHEws had always been so strong an admirer
of this line, that he had been called an enthusiast. He
differed with Mr. Seymour with regard to the dinner ;
for he would rather see a thousand men enjoying them-
selves on the occasion, than a hundred sitting in a hot
room drinkinr, champagne and complimenting each
other. He knew the pride of the Brighton people was
to do everything better than others ; and he should like
the resolution to go the extent of inviting the share-
holders. They might . say he was interested in
that, because he was himself a shareholder—(A laugh)
—but lie would waive that by taking his own ticket.
Besides, it should not be forgotten that it was by the
voice of the people, the working people of Brighton,
that the Bill was obtained ; and he should like to see them
enjoying a holiday on the occasion, with plenty to eat
and drink. He could see around him many who had
partaken of the Directors' champagne ; and he should
like to see them give a subscription dinner in return.
He once lived upon the great Bath-road, when he used
to see the invalids bundling down from town on a Mon-
day, and it was then thought pretty well if they got
back on Thursdty. This was four days. Brighton
could then be reached in six hours, and that made the
town. Comparing Bath and Brighton, Mr. Matthews
nientioned that he had told a party at Bath that they
would never beat us till they could get our " herring
pond" in their neighbourhood. The railroad would, he
thought, be of incalculable advantage to the town. Now
was there any objection to inviting the shareholders ?
A Gentleman, whose name we could not learn, said—
I should like to second that, and to invite the Engineer
as well as the Directors.

CHAIRMAN—The requisition is very explicit ; I think
we cannot go beyond the Directors.
Mr. MATTHEW;;—Not if the meeting is unanimous ?
Mr. SEYMOUR—Let us begin with the Directors, and
have half-a-dozen more dinners, if we can.
CHAIRMAN—Perhaps, Mr. Matthews may be antici-
pated with regard to the shareholders. I merely wish
now to say that I have had the pleasure of dining at the
expence of the Directors, when my friend, Mr. Mat-
thews, sat opposite to me.—(Laughter.)
Mr. MATTHEWS—That was before the Bill passed ;
but don't suppose I want to throw anything like dissen-
sion in the meeting. I will agree to any thing ; but I
want to do the thing handsome, and I should like to see
the shareholders at the dinner.

Mr. IIOLTUAM remarked that the question must, after
all, be left to a Committee, who, if they found it desi-
rable, could call the inhabitants together, and take their
opinion upon Mr. Matthews's suggestion. But it would
be indiscreet for; the present meeting, without funds, to
resolve on a very large expenditure.
Mr. SEYMOUR, in reply, said he was no shareholder,
nor had he ever tasted any of the Threctors' turtle or
venison—no, nor even their bread and cheese.—
(Laughter.) He should like to see a feast as extensive
as Mr. Matthews suggested ; but that was impossible.
After passing this resolution they would, of course, ap-
point a Committee, and these gentlemen would consider
the best opssible manner of carrying out the object of
the meeting, and, if practicable, of enlarging that object.
He wished now to mention one circumstance which he
had forgotten when he before addressed them, but which
reflected great honour on the Company. Among the
advantages of Brighton were its charities, at the head of
which stood the Sussex County Hospital. That Insti-
tution had assisted the poor men who were injured in
the progress of the railway, several of whom had been
at the Hospital, and most of them had been cured ; and
the Directors had --shown that science and benevolence
went together like two cherries upon one stalk, for they
had sent to the Hospital donations to the amount of 1501.
Mr. Seymour then mentioned that a letter was a short
time ago sent to them, stating the .number of railway
cases that had been received at the Hospital, in response
to which came, in forty-eight hours, a further gift of 100
guineas.

- The resolution was then put and carried with only two
dissentients, Mr. Bowdidge and another.
Mr. C. WIGNEY proposed a resolution that a Com-
mittee be appointed to carry the foregoing resolution
into effect, with full power to make every arrangement
which can render the dinner agreeable and the Directors
sensible of the feelings of the inhabitants of the town of
Brighton for their exertions.
Mr. H. SMITHERS had great pleasure in seconding that
resolution. He was sure that they would all join heart
and hand; the Committee would be anxious to do their
utmost, and let the town see whether, by subscribing li-
berally, they could not do more than give the Directors
a dinner.—(Hear, hear.) 'He hoped that they would
make it a high day and a holiday, and shut up their
shops and enjoy themselves.

kr. B. W-00.13 remarked that an era was claiming upon
them which would, in his, opinion, make Brighton more
prosperous than ever she had been before. With the ex-
perience of the effect produced by the starting of the six-
hour coaches by Mr. Whitchurch, twenty years ago, he
had no doubt that the increased rapidity of travelling by
means of the railway would be beneficial in proportion
to the increase of speed.
On the motion of Mr. F. COOPER, seoonded by Mr.
FOLKARD, thanks were voted to the Chairman ; and the
meeting broke up.

THE WESTMINSTER REFORM SOCIETY
On Wednesday a numerous meeting of the Westminster
Reform Society was held at Stannard's Hotel, Charles-
street, Covent-garden, to receive the Report of the
Election Committee. Among the members present were
Major-General Purlby, Sir F. Knowles, Knt., Mr.
Prout, &c. Major-General Purlby was called upon to
preside, when Mr. Prout read the Report of the Com-
mittee. appointed by the Society to conduct the late
election against the Tory candidate, and in doing so he
observed that it was a matter of great moment that the
Society should be put in possession of the causes which
led to the return of a Tory, and their defeat at the late
election, as they would thereby be better prepared upon
another occasion. They had been busy in attending to
the registration, or they would have presented the Re-
port earlier, and he was able to say, that in consequence
of the exertions used, there were above 2,000 new
claims this year.--(Hear, hear.) He hoped, there-
fore, that the Reformers would exert themselves in
order to place Westminster in that position it has main-
tained for many years. He, had for thirty ycars la-
boured for the Liberal cause, and he regretted that,
after so long a period, it should happen that they were
represented by a Tory. He then presented the Report,
from which it appeased that 666 electors voted for
Captain Rous beyond the number who voted for Sir
James Murray in 1137, and 500 electors less voted for
Sir De Lacy Evans and Mr. Leader. The Committee
attributed the loss of the election to over-confidence,
and observed, that if the plumpers given to the
Reform candidates, which were 99 for Mr. Leader,
and 59 for Sir De Lacy Evans were divided, that
the latter would have had nineteen, and the former two
votes, more than Captain llous. The Committee then
proceeded to regret the loss of Sir De Lacy Evans as
their representative, observing that he had always faith-
fully discharged his duty in support of the interests of
his constituents.—(Hear.) Mr. Scaif then moved, and
Mr. Child seconded the motion, that the Report be re-
ceived and entered in the minutes, which was unani-
mously agreed to. Thanks were voted to the Chairman,
several other members having addressed the Chair, when
the Chairman, in reply, suggested the propriety of
for Ming local Committees, so that they may be prepared
for another election. Mr. Huggett informed the meet-
ing that there would be 716 objections against the
Tories at the Registration Court, and 198 claims made
on their part. About twenty members were added to
the Society.
PRICES OF FOOD AT HOME AND ABROAD.
—The price of white wheaten bread of the first quality
at Paris, on Saturday last, was 66 centimes the loaf of
2 kilogrammes, which is less than 51d. the loaf of 4lbs.
English weight • and the price of bread of the first qua-
lity in London being 10d. the loaf of 41bs., it follows that
bread is 81 9-11 ths per cent. dearer in London than in
Paris. The highest quotation of wheat of the first qua-
lity on the Same day was 33f. the hectolitre, which
is equal to 50s. sd. the quarter. In London, on Mon-
day, the highest quotation for the best wheat was 80s. a
quarter ; consequently, wheat was 58 4-6ths per cent.
dearer in London than in Paris, and a man could have
bought in Paris for five shillings as much wheat as
would have cost• him eight shillings in London.
The highest quotation of flour of the first quality was
61f. the 159 kilogrammes, which answers to 38s. 4d. the
tsiaoc of 8
nk
of flour
bs .
of the
lEnglishrs t weight,
quality ainnd
Londont e highest
being qu o6tsas-.
the sack, it follows that flour is about 71 per cent. dearer
in4oondon than in Paris, and that, with 19s. 2d. a man
is equal to 41s .
ifliolder:
t3:oEef:d:gBouitesbrh.tleetrrah:
would be,.able to purchase as much flour in Paris as he
would have to pay 11. 12s. 6d. for in London. In other
parts of France the prices were, for the most part,'
somewhat lower than in Paris. At Bayonne the best
lu; riwes se
andqt
huAaaa At
quality of wheat was quoted at 21f. the hectolitre, which
measure.
Ist nut hectolitreelti.rshectolitre,
measure.
hefioascl
Dole, the highest quotation of wheat was 23f. 50c. the
ltEioeleb4te7ousl
Elbeuf,
r64edl.
f; a
saot
quarter,eL.
, wheat is 67 7-19ths per cent. dearer in London than at
Elbeuf, where a man may buy for I Is. 101 d. as much
wheat as would cost him 30s. in London.
The General Steam Navigation Company's
packet the Ocean, J. Fife, from Rotterdam, arrived off
the Custom-house at eleven o'clock yesterday morning
with the Dutch mail, after a favourable passage of
twenty-four hours.

RAILWAY MEETINGS.

MANCHESTER AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY,

The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders in this
undertaking was held in the large room of the York
Hotel, on Thursday last. Mr. Thomas Ashton, Chair-
Man of the Beard of Directors, occupied the Chair ; and,
after he had read the advertisement convening the met-
ing, and the seal of the Company had been affixed•to the
register of proprietors produced,
Mr. LYONS one of the Directors, read the Report,
which stated, that the Directors did not entertain any
doubt as. to . the completion of the various works at the
specified time—namely, the 12th of March next ; and
they confidently looked forward to the opening of the
linu.to Crewe before the close of that month. The re-
sult of the negotiation with the Manchester, Sheffield,
and Ashton-under-Lyme Railway Company, had been
an arrangement, which the Directors believed would
prove beneficial to both CoMpanies. The joint station
is to be erected at the cost of this Company ; and the '
Sheffield Company are to pay an adequate annual rent
for such portion as they may occupy ; this payment will
be altogether independent of the tolls to be levied, for
the use of the line, between Chancery-lane, Ardwiek,
and the Manchester station. The amount of loans re-
ceived up to the 31st of July, was 352,3291. 9s. 6d., and,
after satisfying all current demands upon the Company,
there was then a balance in hand of £158,800 35. 10d.
Since that time a considerable amlnt had been received,
and several large sums had been engaged, and the Di-
rectors continued to receive tenders of. loans weekly.
They had therefore no hesitation in again stating their
decided conviction that'it will not be necessary to n ake
any further call upon the proprietors. Mr. Bulkeley
Price, Mr. Henry S. Chadwick, and Mr. Henry T. Wor-
ley, had been elected Directors, in the room of Mr.
John Brooks, Mr. Henry. Tootal, and M. Robert C.
Sharp, who had resigned since the last half yearly meet-
ing. In compliance with the provisions -of the Act- of
Parliament, the following five Directors retire from
office by rotation :—Mr. Robt: Ogden, Mr. Henry T.
Worley, Mr. Leo Schuster, Mr. Bulkeley Price, and Mr.
Joshua P. Westhead.
From the statement of accounts from the Ist Feb. to
'• the 31q July appended to the report, but which was not
read, it appeared that the amount received from passen-
gers and parcels was 8,6661. 13s. 4d.; and that the coach-
. ing disbursements amounted to 4,5361. 12:i. Bd. The
amount received on deposits was 150,0001; on calls,
963,184/.; .mortage, 352,329/. 9s. 6d. ; and that the
total of the receipts was 1,515,045/. 2s. ld. The dis-
bursements included items for expenditure in 1835-6-7,
,157,745L75.5d.; landand compensation, 479,601/. 55.11 d.;
works, 461,629/. 17s. 3d. ; permanent way, 121,770/.145. 7d. ;
stock, 85,131/. 15s. 3d.; and other items, making alto-
gether, 1,376,2441. 18s. 3d.; leaving a balance in favour
of the company of 138,800/. 3s. Bd.
Mr. BUCK, the engineer, then read the Report, giving
an account of the Various contracts, all of which are in
a forward state, except the Wilmslow contract ; and he
said that, since the Report was drawn up, much greater
energy had been'displayed by the contractor, and such
arrangements' made as would leave no doubt of the works
being completed within the period specified. The Re-
port also stated, that the experience of the past six
months had tended to confirm him in the opinion ad-
vanced in his Report of February last, that there would
not be any excess upon the contracts then stated, name-
ly, about two per cent. upon the lettings.
RicnAnn 'BIRLEIC moved, " That the Report cf
the Directors be received, and, with the statement of ac-
counts, printed for circulation amongst the Share-
holders.'

Dr. LYON, in seconding the motion, said he trusted
they might now say that the prospects before them were
clear and promising.—Carried. unanimously.

NORTH MIDLAND RAILWAY.

The tenth half-yearly meeting of proprietors in this
railway was held at the Derby Station on Thursday
last. About 150 Shareholders were present. George
Carr Glynn, Esq., Chairman to the Board of Directors,
presided. The Chairman having noticed certain charges
of unfairness made against the Directors, the Report
was read ; from a hich it appeared, that, after the ne-
cessary expenditure incurred, there was a sufficieLt
surplus on hand to warrant the Directors in recoil':-
mending a dividend of 21. per share on the hundred
pound shares, and 1/. on those of fifty. The traf-
fic, as compared with last year, had increased 64 per
cent., without occasioning any additional outlay
to the Company. " All the works on the line,
including the tunnels, are (nays the report) in the
most efficient state ; and, when the station at Nor-
manton (now erecting at the joint expence of this and
the Manchester and Leeds, and York and North Mid-
land Companies) is completed, little more will .remain to
be done." The Board determined forthwith to close the
offices in London, and to concentrate the whole estab-
lishment in Derby. The receipts for the half-year end-
ing 30th June, 1841, with the balance in hand from last
year, amounted to 125,8691. 19s. 6d. leaving, after de-
fraying all expenses, a surplus of 47,8251. 7s. 7d. The
net profit for the half-year amounted to 16,0001. The
Chairman stated, that they had realized a very handsome
per centage on the surplus revenue, and that a reduction
in the expenditure had been resolved on, and was now
being carried into effect, amounting to 14,0001. per an-
num,.without in any respect impairing the efficiency of
the works.

The Report stated that " The opening of the Great
North of England line has undoubtedly proved very ad-
vantageous to the North Midland, but as the railway
communication northwarh terminates at Darlington, the
Directors have been extremely..anxious that tho accom-
modiition by coacheS should be improved, and they are
happy to state that satisfactory arrangements are now
made by which thepublic ate conveyed the whole dis-
tance from London to Edinburgh in twenty-seven hours.
This, however, is not sufficient ; the completion of the
line from Darlington to Newcastle is of the utmost im-
portance, and measures have been taken to promote this
object in conjunction with the other Railway Companies
interested in the extension, which the Directors trust will
t).l seconded by the earnest and zealous co-operation of
the Proprietors of the North Midland Railway." -
The report having been adopted, a discussion took
place as to the propriety of reducing the fares ; but the
meeting separated without proposing any formal resolu-
tion on the subject.

THE MAGAZINES.

THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE.

The portrait of Dr. Barrett, late Senior Fel-
low and Vice-Provost of the Dublin University—
one of the most eccentric, and in many respects
most remarkable men of moderrtimes—embel-
lishes the Picture Gallery of the Dublin Maga-
zine tbr this month. Dr. Barrett, better known I
in the Irish University by the soubriquet of
"Jacky Barrett," was a compound of oddities so
heterogeneous, that the wonder is, how they ever
came to co-exist in the character of the same
individual. " Though acquainted," says his
biographer, "with the abstrusest things of sci-
ence, he was so ignorant of the things of com-
mon life, that he absolutely did not know a live
duck from a partridge ; and though he had dined
at Commons on mutton fbr forty years, he actu-
ally did not know alive sheep the only time he
ever saw one; though capable of speaking arid
writing the dead languages with correctness and
fluency, lie was so ignoranrt of his own, that his
conversation was a tisv of blunders and gram-
matical abc3urdities. Though generally kind and
good-natured, he was never known to give a
penny in charity; and so narrow was his heart,
that he suffered his nearest relatives to pine in
poverty while he lived, and starve at his death,
while he had accumulated useless thousands.
Though a religious and
„pious man, he indulged
a habit of cursing and'sWearing to a frightful ex-.
tent; and though moral and continent, he pur-
chased all sorts of books and pictures for his pri-
vate indulgence." The following anecdotes of
Dr. Barrett's person are quite characteristic of
the man

His solitary habits prevented his having any asso-
ciates among his fellow-students, but he made compa-
nions of his scanty stock of furniture, and when reading
for Fellowships used every day to go through the form
of an examination with them. Having placed his chair,
table, basin, and bolster, in a semicircle, ho gave them
the names of the declared candidates, and propounded
such questions as occurred in the part of the examination
he was reading. To the first whom he supposed to an-
swer, he said " male," to the, next " minus recte," to
another " die tu," and so on to the last which represented
himself, to whose imagined answer he always replied
" recte respondisti, domine Barrett." In this way with
wonderful perseverance .he got through the whole course,
and obtained a Fellowship with considerable credit in the
year 1778, and was co-opted to a Senior Fellowship, A.D.
1791.

As soon as he became a Fellow, all the eccentricities
which his former mode of life had tended to conceal as
well as to confirm, began to be better known, and every
one who had any intercourse with him had numerous
anecdotes of his blundering simplicity. The anecdote of
the two cats, which has been told of many learned men,
originated with him. His only pets were a cat and a
kitten, its progeny. A friend seeing two holes in the
bottom of his door, asked him for what purpose he made
them there. Barrett said it was for his cats to go in and
out. _ _

" Why," replied his friend, " would not one do for
both ?"
- -

" You silly man," answered the Doctor, " how could
the bin- cat get into the little hole ?"
" But," said his friend, " could not the little one go
through the big hole."
" Egad," said Barrett, " and so she could, but I never
thought of that.' .
Equally ingenious was the plan he proposed at the
Board for removing the rubbish after some buildings had
been pulled down in the College courts. He considered
it a very unnecessary expense to have it drawn away in
carts, and said it would" be a more expeditious means of
getting rid of it, to dig a. hole. and bury it ; when asked
what was to be done with the clay taken out of the hole—
" D'ye see me now," replied the philosophic Doctor,
" can't you dig another hole and bury that ?"
Nor can we omit the following :
How completely this extraordinary passion for hoard-
ing money had counteracted the natural kindness of his
disposition, was strongly exhibited in another instance,
towards his poor old attendant, Catty. He had sent her
out, as usual, one morning for a halfpenny-worth of
milk ; he gave her a penny to pay for it, with strict in-
junctions to be correct in bringing back the change. The
poor woman, whom old age and want had rendered in-
firm, slipped and fell in the College-court as she was re-•
turning with the milk, hurting her leg so severely that
she was immediately carried off to an hospital. She had
for many years been the Doctor's only companion, and
being sincerely grieved for the accident, he went at once
to the hospital to see her. The unfortunate woman was
lying on bed writhing with pain, and her old master was
at first affected to tears, but hip habitual avarice was too
strong to be suppressed, and after expressing his sorrow
for her misfortune, he began, " D'ye hear, Catty, where's
the jug ?"
" Oh ! Doctor dear," groaned the poor woman, " sure
the jug was broke, and I couldn't help it." •
" Very good, Catty, that's true, it couldn't be helped;
but d'ye see me now, where's my halfpenny change ?"
" Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dragoon," is
continued this month with much spirit. The
remaining articles, especially those entitled
" September Flowers," and " Sketches on the
Coast
_of Clare," are as clever as any that have
lately appeared in this periodical.