The Sun.
London, England, 1840-05-12 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

bar for Suffolk (Sir Charles Broke Vere) should have
undertaken the conduct of a Bill of this description.
Nothing similar to it had ever before been brought before
the House. Was it fit to introduce a Bill promoted by
a few persons belonging to a Company. He understood
that they only held 200 shares, 98 of which were in ar-
rear, So much for the respectability of the parties whom
the Hon. Baronet represented. But the Bill called
Upon the House to assist them by giving them additional
Power to raise money. Why, they could not borrow
one farthing, and the Hon. Member who had just
sat down had told the House that shares were at a
discount of 50 per cent. What was the reason
of that ?' Because they had not completed and
could not complete a continuous line of railway.
He felt these reasons were enough for their completing
the line as far as Chelmsford in the first instance, and
then to Colchester. The public would not lend
their money for it. That was the state of the
case on which the Honourable Baronet asked
them to go into Committee. He knew what the
effect of that would be. It would be a robbery on the
Company, for when all the line opened the concern
Would be totally ruined. The expenses were to be
Paid out of the first money which came let() the hands
of the Company. Much had been said on this, and
though he knew how little attention was paid by
Hon. Members to affairs of this sort, he did
implore them to resist the attempt to go into
Committee, which, under pretence of deing justice to
the parties, would be an act of monstrous injustice
and robbery to the Eastern Counties Railway Com-
pany,.--( Hear, hear.)
Mr. F. KELLY rose amid loud cries of " Divide," and
said he entreated the attention of the House for a few
Moments on the important subject before them. It
had been stated by his Hon. Friend, who had moved
the second reading, that in 1836, the Legislature was
induced to give its sanction to an Act of Parliament
for making a railway from London to Norwich and
Yarmouth, and the question the House was now called
on to decide was, whether the body of gentlemen who
had obtained a number of shares in the undertaking,
formed under that Bill, should now defeat the inten-
tions of the Legislature, and expend the funds raised
under their sanction, in making a railway to Colchester
and no further. He ventured to say, that whatever the
Hon. and Gallant Member might think of the Bill
before the House, neither lie nor any other remembered
an instance in which a Company had been sanctioned
or permitted to expend these great funds for a totally
different purpose to that for which they were en-
' trusted to their charge. A complaint made by those who
brought the Bill forward, was, that whereas they had
wasted their capita. and their exertions, and, by the
exertions of their representatives in Parliament, had
made out a case bj which Parliament had passed a
sill for making a railway between two counties.
Now that Parliament had passed the Bill, a body
of, shareholders, because they constituted a majority,
sought to pervert the funds and powers thus en-
trusted for another purpose. The Hon , Gentleman
who had just sat down, if he had invested
his capital in a railway, what would he think
if he found, when all that capital was raised
and power conferred for making a railway from Lon-
don to Brighton, they should stop half way, leaving the
town without the benefit sought to be conferred upon
it by the Legislature. That would be the effect of the
present Act of Pezliament.—(Cries of " Hear.")
It had been said that a large majority of the
Shareholders, and he believed a still larger
majority of the Directors, were in favour of the under-
taking, as they were now carrying it on, and strenuously
opposed to this Bill. All he could say was this, he did
not blame the Shareholders, if they thought by making
a railway to London and Colchester they could more
speedily realise the capital they had advanced, but the
question was not whether this would be more for their
Interest, but whether the Legislature, representing not
merely the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, but
the whole community, would allow these large sums
which they had granted for one purpose to be applied
to another. Of the eighteen witnesses upon whose
cvidence the Legislature had passed this Bill, seven-
teen were from the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, not
ne from Essex ; the other being from some other
part of the country. The case made out when
the Legislature passed this Bill was, that great advan-
tage would be derived by all these three counties—not
by a railway from London to Colchester, but to Col-
,chester and Yarmouth. All, therefore, sought by this
Mill was, to comply with this intention of the Legis-
lature, and to perform their compact with Parliament
and the countr
Hon. Member Y ; and he earnestly put it to every
who had ever taken part in a Rail-
way Bill, whether he would not feel himself unjustly
dealt with if be had concurred in passing a Bill
for a specific purpose, and afteiwards found the power
conferred by it was employed for a totally different ob-
, jeet. The Hon. Gentleman who had spoke last but
one, had alluded to certain proceedings which had
taken place in a Court of law. It was true that a
number of shareholders having property in the
Norfolk and Yarmouth Rail way, had applied
to the Court of Queen's Bench, and ob-
tained a mandamus calling on the Directors to
complete the railway as originally contemplated.
It was also true that the Railway Company had made a
return to that mandamus, and the Hon. Gentleman was
very wrong if he supposed that the House was called
upon to interfere with the Court of Queen's Bench. He
had no doubt that the Court of Queen's Bench might be
called upon to make a mandamus ordering the railway
to be completed ; but the object of the present Bill was
to raise the funds for that purpose. Under these cir-
cumstances he trusted that the House would be induced
to allow the Bill to be read a second time. if there
was any thing objectionable in the clauses they might be
remedied in Committee.
Mr. CRESS WELL rose amidst loud cries of" Ques-
tion, question," and " Divide, divide." He could
not help thinkirg that his Learned Friend was
mistaken in his facts, when he stated that the Direc-
tors of this Company, who had been entrusted with
2,000,0001. of money, had misapplied it. If the
Money had been misapplied, who, he would ask, were the
Parties to complain ? Why, those whose money had been
squandered—the Proprietors, and what was the case with
respect to them ? Why, out of 64,000 shares, there
Were only 209 persons who opposed the Bill, and of
that number 89 were behindhand in their calls.—(Hear,
hear.) The House was asked by the present Bill to
confer certain powers upon the Company which they
repudiated and did not require. He trusted, therefore,
that the House would not force upon the Directors
any powers which they were not wiliing to receive.
Sir R. INGLIS supported the Bill, and the
grounds upon which he did so were the fact that an
Act had been passed to enable a Company to carry
a railroad from London to Norwich—that Company
had not carried into effect the powers entrusted to
them. A mandamus had been granted by the
Court of Queen's Bench, ordering them to carry
into effect the powers entrusted to them and
in answer to that mandamus they had stated that they
could not perform the orders of the Courts for want of
means, and the present Bill was for the purpose of
enabling them to raise the meara of doing so.
Mr. M. PHILLIPS opposed the Bill, considering it
unnecessary,land totally uncalled for.
Strangers were then ordered to withdraw, and the
House divided, when the numbers were—
For the Bill 5B
Against it 195
Majority
On the motion of Mr. E. BULLER. the Rocester
and Derby Roads Bill was read a third time and
passed.
A message from the Lords brought down certain Bills.
NOTICES OF MOTION.
The SPEAKER said that he had had two notice
papers put into his hands, both of which had been signed
by Hon. Members. He was quite at a loss to
know which to proceed with. He believed one
of them was dated Monday, May the II th ; and he
'would submit to the House whether be lied not better
proceed with that as the notice paper.—( Hear.)
Sir LARD LEY WIL MOT gave notice, that to-
morrow he should move that Mr. G. Wilbraham be
added to the Committee on Grammar Schools.
Mr. HUME gave notice that, to-morrow, he should
move for certain returns relative to the University of
London, and that he should also move for an account
of all payments made to the Established Church out
of the public purse, in England, Ireland, or Scotland.
STOCKDALE AND HOWARD.
Mr. THOMAS DUNCOM BE gave notice that
on Thursday next,.he should move that S:ockdale and
Howard be dis 'barged from custody.
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.
The Earl of DARLINGTON, before bringing
forward the motion of which he had given notice,
wished to ask the Hon. Under Secretary if it were his
intention to proceed with the Constabulary Bill that
evening, or to take: the Estimates before it.
Mr. FOX MAULE said that the Estimates
would be taken first, and if they were over
by ten o'clock, then the other business would
be proceeded with ; but if the Estimates should
not he over before ten o'clock then he did not intend to
Proceed with the Constabulary Bill to-night.
Mr. O'BRIEN postponed his motion relative to
emigration sine the.
RATES OF STOCK IN TRADE.
Sir R. PEEL had given notice that he would put
a question to the Attorney-General on a subject of
the utmost importance—it referred to the principle
upon which an impost should be levied on this country
of not less than seven millions annually. He appre-
hended that the sum raised for the poor-ratc,, ap-
plicable to the support of the poor-rate
.and the
county-rate, might be taken at six millions,
and the highway-rate at a sum of not less than
1,100,000/. The question he wished to put was, upon
what principle that impost was to continue, and he
thought that in consequence of the conflicting decisions
of the Court of Queen's Bench, and the great
doubts entertained as to the legality of any
rate, if Parliament separated without sonic inter-
vention on its part, the whole country would
be thrown into confusion. A short reference to the
circular of the Poor-law Commissioners would put