The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-27 00:00:00

SPECIAL MEETINGS

of both companies were next successively held, presided
over by Mr. Barlow, at which
The CHAIRMAN explained that the sense of the share-
holders was to be taken on the propriety of giving the
directors power to treat with the Great Western Com-
pany for the sale of the two lines.

The same report was submitted and 2doptcd by both
meetings. The following is its substance :
The report stated that the directors, in order to carry
out the intention of the shareholders, and the early con-
struction of the lines, thought it beat to call in the
assistance of another company rather than to depend on
the making of calls upon the shareholders. To carry
out the scheme promptly and successfully they applied
to the Great Western Company to purchase, instead. of
leasing the line. In order, however, to give effect
to any arrangement for selling the lines, it
was necessary that they should go to Parliament.
No terms with the Great Western had been come to,
nor could the directors state what those terms would be,
or the probableffect tgthe lhriineevesi:snialgatmnodtehf,aeawundteyhirroefcruesitsteuoiynri: negotiation.
Rgsraupothyewmacgrrtetoeoda treatptpo.ly forf or
at h esl ‘l
ouotefi
Bi
l
The shareholders thee separated.

An adjourned meeting of the share and scripholders of
the Cork and Fermoy Direct Railway Company took place
yesterday at the London Tavern, for the purpose of
determining whether, under the provisions of Lord
Dalhousie's Act, the company should be dissolved or
not. The first meeting took place last Monday, and
was adjourned till yesterday in consequence of there not
being a sufficient number of votes present to constitute
the meeting according to the provisions of the Act. The
meeting was advertised for twelve o'clock, but it was
nearly one before E. J. Spieres, Esq., took the chair.
The minutes of the meeting on Monday last, having
been read by the secretary, were confirmed, and the
scrutineers then proceeded to take the remaining votes.
In answer to a question from a shareholder,
The CHAIRMAN stated that they had 1,7491. in hand,
that there would probably be claims for expenses to
the amount of 3001., which would leave them a balance
of somewhere about 1,450/.
_ _

The SECRETARY said that this was independent of Mr.
Sherlock's claim. That gentleman had already had 5001.,
and he had been requested to send in his claim, but had
not clone so.

A SHAREHOLDER, in answer to a question from the
Chairman. stated that he did not know what the amount of
Mr. Sherlock's claim would be, but it would probably
amount to 3,0001.
The CHAIRMAN said that the London solicitor had
had 400/. on account, and he understood that he did not
intend to make any further claim. Mr. Sherlock had
had 5001.

At two o'clock the SECRETARY declared the number
of votes to be 605, which number not being sufficient
legally to constitute a meeting for a dissolution, the
meeting broke up.
A meeting of shareholders was then constituted, Mr.
Valentine in the chair.

The CHAIRMAN having read a statement of the pre-
liminary expenses, which he said he considered all would
think reasonable,

A resolution was proposed and adopted to the effect,
that it be a recommendation to the directors to divide
105. a share, reserving tho surplus for the settlement of
any other claims that might be made, and after those
claims had been settled to return the remainder to the
shareholders.

The CHAIRMAN said if he got back 15s. a share he
should think himself well off.

Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the
meeting broke up.

IMMEDIATE REPEAL OF DUTIES
ON COHN AND ALL HUMAN FOOD.

A large meeting of the inhabitants of Marylebone,
was held last evening, at seven o'clock, in the Princess
Assembly Rooms, Oxford-street, in accordance with an
address calling them together. Amongst those present,
we observed Itlessrs. J. Heath, P. Graham, G. Rogers,
John Dell, J. Creed, J. Reighley, J. Lyons, J. Wilson,
and J. Cousins.
The printed address stated that they were called to-
gether "in consequence of the alarmingly high price of
bread and meat throughout the country, the actual
existence of famine iu Ireland, and apprehension cf
its greater extension during the forthcoming winter
from a dearth of provisions, and the confession
of her Majesty's Government of the necessity for
national prayers to diminish or avert the consequent im-
pending evils which on all sides menace the United King-
dom." The principal object of the meeting, however,
was to hear an address from Mr. Cochrane, of Devon-
shire-place, with the earnest endeavour to create such a
manifestation of public sympathy and anxiety for the
sufferings of the poorer classes throughout the country
as will lead to the Government removing, without dcla),
all duties on every kind of food essential to human
wants."

A. Ramsey, Esq., was, in the absence of Sir William
I3ayne, appointed to the chair.
Mr. COCHRANE, who was received with loud applause,
then proceeded to address the meeting. At such a
crisis, when bread, meat, and the common necessaries
of life were at an enormous price, and the probability of
the price being still greater increased, on account of the
impending famine in this country and Ireland and Scot-
land, he considered that it was the
,duty of every one,
however humble his abilities, to come forward and do all
in his power to alleviate: it,, and to explain how that
alleviation might best be effected.—(Hear.) In such a
state of things, the accuracy of which was left beyond
doubt by the Order of Council for prayers to the
Almighty to avert the impending evils of scarcity,
he considered it was the duty of a Christian
Minister of a free country at one stroke of the pen to
open the ports and admit the products of other coun-
tries necessary for the sustenance of the inhabitants of
this free of duty.—(Loud cheers.) Ministers were no
doubt in the habit of reading "holy writ," and were
no doubt aware of the the text which said, "That those
who withhold bread from the poor should be cursed."—
(Cheers.) Any laws which prevented the free inter-
change of commodities, and which put money in •the
pockets of the rich at the expense of the poor, could not
be otherwise than unchristian. The prayer which had
been issued besought the Almighty not to allow the
poor to perish from famine, and attributed the scarcity
to a judgment fur the sins of the people; but the people
deserved great praise for their forbearance under
scarcity and under stringent restrictive laws, instead of
attributing the scarcity to their sins; for, but for those
restrictive laws, there would have been abundance, instead
of scarcity, and cheapness instead of detrness.—(Cheers.)
But there was little necessity for the Archbishop of Can-
'erbury to frame a prayer for the occasion when there
was a prayer in their prayer-books which thanked • the
Almighty for bestowing the produce of the earth upon
all the people of the earth, irrespective of condition. The
fluctuations in the price of wheat during a few years,
from 395. to 115 s. per quarter ought to have taught Minis-
ters ere this to place no faith in fallacious imposts.--
(Cheers.) But the poor had ever been sacrificed to class
legislation, to the rich, who were indifferent to the wants
a
poorri who ground their facts to the
an
rd ti
, and price of their bread. -The poor
earth,
strugglesi
r sisoefdthteh
ep
were subjected to the influenee,:of .an unnatural poor-
law, which was based upon this atrocious formula —reduce
the food in quantity and quality,
and then so regulate
o ,) rout-door relief as to supersede the necessity
for it at ail.
Ile then referred to the case at Peckham, where a wo-
man, for a small fault, had one of her teeth knocked
out. The men was tried, the Poor Man's Guardian So-
cif ty prosecuting, but by some means or other he was
acquitted.—(Shame.) Then a • ease occurred in St.
Giles's, where a poor man had been subjected to the
harsh system pursued in that utsion_ Ives not allowed to
have either the solicitor or secretary present at the board
to defend his case.—(A voice, "That was all humbug.")
.Meetings would shortly be held there, and he should be
happy to afford these .who doubted hire an. Opportunity
of e• provin there that his statement was not founded in
fact. The" scarcity was . a judgment upon the Govern-
mentifer passing laws bearing harshly upon the poor, and
a judgment on the rich for making those laws more
stringent ; and the scarcity was not a judgment-
but a' warning to the Government, not to attempt to re-
gulate the seasons, but to afford the poor the produce of
the earth Kt a fair rate. What a mockery it was for
many of the poor of Ireland and Scotland to pray " for
their daily bread," when they did not taste bread
from year to year.—(l-lear, hear, and cheers.) After
defending the poor from the charge of bad conduct
which was frequently made against them, and citing the
good conduct of those employed by the philanthropic;
he concluded by submitting a memorial to the Lords of
the Treasury, eloquently calling upon them on account
of the present distress of the people immediately to issue
an Order in Council admitting bread—the proper food
of man, and not potatoes—into this country, and all
other necessaries of life, free, as a step to their imme.
diate repeal.
The memorial was unanimously adopted by the meetine.
A Mr. Griffiths, a young man wearing a Byronic
collar and white trousers, endeavoured to address th,
meeting, but as his address was without purpose, and
as he seemed " beside himself," the meeting Most de-
cidedly refused.to hear him, and after retaining his posi-
tion for some minutes, the Chairman politely requested
hits to withdraw, but as he continued to treat both him
and the meeting with contempt, the Chairman collared
him and thrust him from the platform. We have
fre-
quently,
seen the young gentleman disturb meetings in a
similar manner.
Mr. A. CAMPBELL next addressed the meeting, and
proclaimed himself a disciple in the cause—as desirous
to see free trade carried out in all the nations of the
earth—to see the people enjoy its fruits, for the land was
theirs, and should belong to them —(Chee s. r ) The
Times had, within the last few .ays, proclaimed that the
people of Ireland had an antecedent right to the land of
their country over those who now possessed it. But,
with all the distress here, we were even an exporting
country, and would remain so as long as its proprietor:
could get lOs. more a for it,unless it were for-
bidden by legislative quarter s
He wished
~enactrnents.—(Cheer. .)
to impress upon Al Cochrane, who was a good friend
to the poor—(Cheers)—that even when cheap food was
attained, something enable the try
must be done to poor
burst
ltd'
eers)—something must be done to afford
thorn, reproductive profitable employment. —(Hear.) Let
steps be taken to cultivate this
country; for if it were
properly cultivated, it would yield food for 120 millions.
lie did not wish to add any amendment to the memorial,
but he wished to submit to the meeting a sentiment to
this effect—that in order to obviate such distress for the
future in Ireland,
for instance, the Government was
bound to adopt rational measures, in order to give them
reproductive labour in their native land, to cultivate
waste lands, and to issue Exchequer-bills to defray the
expense. The process was ono which would yield them
•
an ample return I.le resumed his seat amidst much
cheering.
Mr. FARREN advocated representation of the
a fuller
people as the best means of freeing them from the in-
fluence of injurious laws and the machinations of those
who were speculating on their misery, by keeping food
out of the market' in order to create a scarcity, and con-
sequently regulate the price by regulating the quantity.
Mr. WYNN supported the memorial, and cited pas-
sages from Scripture to show that the Government, who
professed themselves believers of " holy writ," were.
acting in direct contradiction to its spirit, and that they
ought to act in accordance with the word of God, and
let " the oppressed go free." •
Mr. WILLIS next addressed the meeting, which sepa-
rated after passing a vote of thanks to the Chairman and
Mr. Cochrane. Several names were appended to the
memorial.

INTESTATOBY—Instances of wealthy persons dying
without making a will are of late of frequent occur-
the City of Londrm
rence. We have now to notice the late Josias Stansfield,
Esq., many years the active and esteemed chairman of
tats, possessed of valuable and available securities, and
money in the public funds, which have been estiimated
Gas-light Compiny, dying intoz-•
at 180,0001., besides his freeholds, which, together, will
make his property a quarter of a million

BRUSSELS, OCT. 23.—Several journals, says the Moni-
tear, have spoken of the epidemic disorder which pre-
vails in some communes of the districts of Sermonic,
Malines and Brussels. We can say with certainty that
no measures have been neglected to put a stop to this
disorder, and the Inspector of Public Health has been
ordered personally to see that all of the sanatory mea-
sures prescribed by the superior authorities are carried
into execution. The disease is on the decline in most of
the communes.

Yesterday a very extraordinary phenomenon, which
has not yet been accounted for, astonished the oldest sea-
men of the port of Antwerp. The tide was to rise till a
quarter-past five, and it was, therefore, with extreme
surprise that they perceived the waters to fall consider-
ably at five minutes past four. This circumstance is the
more remarkable, because on account of the sea-moon a
very high tide was expected. In consequence of this
event the American three-masted ship the Shanunge,
which was in the road, was unable to enter the basin.
The tempest which has been raging here since yesterday
morning, has done considerable damage in the environs
of the city of Brussels.
The price having attained the rate at which the trea-
ties for the cessation of Bavaria to the Zollverein allow
the suppression of duties, King Louis has just ordered
the importation duty free of all kinds of provisions into
his kingdom.
_ _

Yesterday, in consequence of the unfavourable weather,
six or seven merchantmen, which had left the port of
Ostend, bound for Liverpool and Portugal, were obliged
to put back, having been stopped about at sea for seven
days without having lost sight of the coast.