The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-25 00:00:00

WATERFORD AND KILKENNY

RAILWAY COMPANY.—(THIS DAY.)
The half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors of
the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway was held this
afternoon, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street;
the Hon. 134 S. Butler, M.P., in the chair.
The report stated that the first contract, embracing a
distance of 51 miles from Kilkenny to Bennett's-bridge,
was nearly complete, and it was proposed to lay the
rails on that portion within a few weeks. Another
contract including a heavy viaduct bad been let, and it was
anticipated the works would be so much advanced in March
next as to admit of the line being opened from Kilkenny to
Thomastown. ..The directors proposed to make the
Meeting special, for the purpose of taking powers to
borrow money. Negotiations had been going on with
the Government for a loan, but owing to the intricacy
of the machinery with which' the Board of Wcrks had
been trammelled, they had as yet proved unsuccessful.
Hopes were entertained, however, that Government
would shortly see the expediency of advancing money to
expedite the progress of lines in the position of the
Waterford and Kilkenny Railway ; and if those
hopes were realised, the whole of the line could
be proceeded with without any call being made
upon the shareholders till June,,_M 1847, when it was pro-
posed to call up 31. per share. t could only be done,
however, by the indulgence and assistance of the share-
holders ; and unless the arrears of calls were called up,
the line must stop at Thomastown, and even the open-
ing of the line to that extent would be much delayed.
Several shareholders complained of the complicated
manner in which the accounts were kept, and of the ex-
penditure being extravagant, and eventually, after a
lengthened discussion, the report was adopted, and a
committee appointed to inquire into the state of the ac-
counts, and to report upon the future prospects of the
company.
Power was then taken to borrow money from the Go-
vernment, and the meeting terminated.

MADRID AND VALENCIA RAIL-
WAY COMPANY.—(THIS DAY.)
This day, at twelve o'clock, an adjourned general
meeting of the proprietors of the Madrid and Valencia
Railway Company was held at the London Tavern,
Bishopsgate-street. Mr. Chadwick took the chair.
The SOLICITOR read the case which had been sub-
mitted to counsel since the last meeting. The case en-
tered into are the particulars connected with the attempt
to constitute the company, with which the public are
already familiar. The principal points submitted to
counsel were the following :
" Ist. To suggest to the company what steps the
directors ought legitimately to adopt, to effect a dissolu-
tion of the company.
" 2d. What majority of shareholders in Loudon could
dissolve the company.
" 3d. How the company should be dissolved, iuppos-
ing the English shareholders had not the power."
Messrs. Robert and Whaley, the counsel to whom
the case was submitted, were of opinion that the English
directors had no power to alter the constitution of the
company, that it could not legally be dissolved in Eng.
land, and that it was affected by the Spanish law, no
English Act of Parliament, applying to railways, em-
bracing it.
The CHAIRMAN deeply regretted the unavoidable
absence of Dr. Bowring, who on the occasion of the
last meeting had suggested the course which the di-
rectors had since pursued. He for one would do all he
could to carry out Dr. Bowring's views ; but from the
opinion which had been submittd to them, they would
learn that very serious obstacles lay in the way of their
putting an end to the company as had been desired by a
large body of the shareholders. He was in a position to
state that negotiations were pending with some large
capitalists, by which, if carried into effect,
the discontented shareholders would be paid off. As
soon as the arrangement was duly perfected a public
announcement would be made, and a meeting of the
shareholders called. Beyond that nothing could be done
by the directors, who would for their own sake do all
they could to promote the affairs of the company.
Mr. DRURY understood from the speech.of the Chair-
man that the directors were in treaty with some men of
capital, that agreement if carried out was tantamount to
a sale of the line, and he moved that the directors be
empowered to sell the line immediately.—(Uproar.)
Mr. BIGG thought the meeting would have a diffi-
culty in adopting any substantive resolution, and advised
a delay.
Mr. LINDOW could not avoid attaching blame to the
directors for having promised to the proprie •
tors in February last, and so late as July, that the
Spanish money would be forthcoming. If the
Spanish shares had been forfeited, according to
the terms of the letter of allotment the Spanish people
would have had 'nothing to do with the line, and they
would then be in a condition to dispose of the company.
But he was of opinion that the proprietors in England
could dissolve the company, and felt surprised, knowing
Spain so well as he did, that the Spanish people were
such fools as to have anything to do with the line.
A long conversation ensued upon the propriety of
allowing the Spaniards extended time to pay up on the
shares allotted them, which was ended by
Mr. HARVEY rising to move the adjournment of the
meeting. In the course of some eloquent and humor-
ous remarks he made upon the affairs of the company,
he disclaimed impugning the integrity or the talent of
the directors ; he firmly believed they had done all they
possibly could to promote the interests of the propieters.
But be thought they were entitled to, and could obtain,
better terms ; and as to there being any difficulty
about dissolving the company, he considered that
exaggeration had been indulged in to intimidate
them from proceeding vigorously. In the. Cornwall
and Devon Central a similar difficully had been started
to impede dissolution, but, although he had been
thwarted by the directors of that company, he had filed
his bill in Chancery, and, although beaten on a de-
murrer before the Vice-Chancellor, he had appealed to
the Lord Chancellor, and the effect of that movement
was, that he had, a few days since, been paid for the
shares, premium and all, together with the costs of the
suit, by the directors of that company. They
were not in a worse position; and he advised them to
wait, and by all means repudiate the negotiation
of the directors at Madrid. He would take 28s. per
share down, and a reversonary hope of what might be
got out of Spanish honour ; or he would take 30s. down
and sign a general acquittance and distance.
The Hon. Proprietor's very characteristic address
was loudly cheered, and the adjournment carried by ac-
clamation, the time not to exceed six weeks, to be in
the discretion of the board of directors.

JUPITER AND HIS MOONS.—There will be a most
beautiful and interesting grouping of the moons of
Jupiter on the evening of the 2d of November at nine
o'clock, when all will appear to the eastward of their
primary in rare and close companionship ; the second l
and fourth moon occupying a position nearly paralle
with the belts, and once his diameter from his limb; the
first and third parallel with his equator, and distant two
- and three diameters. Owing to the rapid and now op-
posite motion of the first and second satellites this con-
vocation of worlds will be of short duration, and the
beautiful group will separate; but not as a distinguished
lecturer has said " never to meet at the same time on
the same side of their magnificent primary ;" but again,
,on the evening of Dec. 30, at 7h. 16m. mean time, as if
by mutual concert, they congregate and occupy the
opposite or western hemisphere ofJupiter, where in bold
and beautiful relief they will exhibit the same triangular
configuration as described on the: 21. The belts of
Jupiter, which for a series of years have exhibited
marked inequalities of distinctness, this year are strong
and well defined.—New Bedford (United States) Mer-
cury.
TIIE LONDON CITY Missmiv.—Last evening the
fourth annual meeting of the members of the North
London Auxiliary to this Association was held at the
Dlusic Hall, Store•street, Bedford•square. The Rev.
Lord Wriotesley Russell, M.A., presided, and was sup-
, ported by the Rev. Thomas Mortimer, the Rev. W. R.
llibdin, the Rev. E. Bickersteth, R. C. L. Bevan, Esq.,
and several other clergymen and gentlemen. From the
annual report it appeared that during the four 3:ears of
its existence the anxilinry 27;,w,intinn had retritt,:d to
h e I,r_trent .506(43' tip,
t *lllll of P2st. By. Illf Lmidot,
City Missiott 160 agents were, employed, who devoted
their.whoie time to the work of vi4itin4 the poor in their
‘iwn habitationr. The r,port :;116wed in detail that the
church accommodation of the metropolis was only for
351,290 persons, and the chapel accommodation 601,418,
of a population of 2,103,279 persons. The report was
adopted, and resolutions expressive of confidence in the
mission, and pledging the meeting to its support, were
passed. . .