The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-06 00:00:00

GROUP XX.

This Committee met at the usual hour this morning; Mr.
Goniburn in the chair.
inur-airma.alvr AND oxronn JUNCTION,
to ND OraMINGIIAM, DUDLEY, AND VTOL-
17zazzAWIPTON

Mr. W lIATKLY opened the case for the promoters of this
Bill. lie went at some length into the circumstances con-
nected with the passing of the Birmingham and Oxford
line, pointing out to the Committee the fact that it was
conceded by Parliament on the ground that the line should
always be an independent line, competing with the London
and North Western Company. The Learned Gentleman
then proceeded to detail a correspondence which took
place before the passing of the Bill between
Lord Hatherton, the chairman of the company, and Mr.
Moseley, the tenor of which appear( d to express a desire,
on the part of certain large shareholdere in the undertaking,
that the directors should endeavour to come to an amicable
arrangement with the London and North-Western Company,
but the directors declined to do anything of the kind, feeling
that the interest of the public was far more important than
that of the shareholders; and the line was therefore allowed
to direct opposition to, and as a competing line with,
te pass,
London and North• Western Railway. The Learned
Gentleman then related the occurrences which had taken
place at the various meetings which had been held to consi-
der the questimonusottlr algamation, and with which the readers
of The Sunfamiliar, they having so recently been
Th,,
before the public.
interruptedarned Counsel was then about to
oi by
call evidence, but he was
The CHAIRMAN, who said time had arrived when the
Committee ought to decide whetherehethd:lmeim Committee.
petitioners against
the 11:11 had any locus standi in t
petitioners, who were
Mr. O,CKBURN contended that
company, the great (mass of the shareholders of
right to appear and oppose the Bill, inasmuch Yth,ehyandada
never given their sanction to the masur-
throughout
Meeting assembled according to the provisions of general
pane's Act of incorporation. The directors hnasdefh the cum_
acted in direct contravention to the wishes of tliericr) c
tuents, while in making an agreement with the Birmingham,
Dudley, and Wolverhampttn Company for amalgamating the
two concerns, they not only sacrificed the interest of the
shareholders by attempting to unite their line with another
of inferior value, but actually did that which they had no
authority whatever to do. Now these petitioners who were
upwards of three-fifths of the shareholders in the company
were deprived from voting at the special meeting called to
consiaer the amalgamation by the act of the
directors themselves, who purposely delayed the
issuing of the sealed certificates, and re-fused to
adjourn the meeting until they had performed that duty.
Toe Committee, therefore, seeing that these petitioners, who
were shareholders in the company at the time of that special
meting, having been deprived of their privileges by the
conduct of the directors, could not refuse to hear them on
th•lt i.wcasion, and he trusted the Committee would not
attempt to exclude them from a hearing. At all the subsequent
meetings, after the issuing of the sealed certificates, the pro-
posed amalgamation was negatived by every shareholder, with
,the exception of the twelve director:, and therefore he naai4-