The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-29 00:00:00

111 E tJN, LONDON, SATURDAY •EVENING, JANUARY 29, 1870,

SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND ART.

The A thenceum has the following:—M. Ste. Deuve's library
is to be sold in a clay or two ; it numbers nearly 30,000
volumes, and possosses considerable interest.—Mr. Tenny-
son's " Holy Grail" is published in America at 10 cents, a
price that must be more agreeable to the purchasers than
the author.—A uniform edition of the poems and imagina-
tive tales of Dr. George MacDonald will shortly appear.—
At an unusually full meeting of Members and Associates
of the Royal Academy, which was held on Tuesday even-
ing last, the majority seemed bent on electing a landscape
painter, and Mr. V'. Cole was chosen A.R.A. This gentle-
man and Mr. Peter Graham having an equal number, nine,
of scratches at the preliminary stage of the proceedings,
a ballot was held, when Mr. Cole distanced his rival by
several votes. In the "scratching" Mr. Mr. F. Walker re-
ceived six favourable marks, Mr. Marks five, Mr. IVoolner
four, besides one which was not attested by the signatpre
of the giver. A large number of candidates were nomi-
nated; of these most had no scratches, others obtained
but one or two.—M. Girard, the engraver, has just died at
the age of 83. He engraved works of Ary Schefier, Girard,
Delaroche, Winterhalter, and others.

FOREIGN NOTES.

NAVAL AND MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

. .
Yesterday the Ist Infantry Brigade at Aldershot,
under the command of Major-General Lysons,
C.B , formed up at 10 o'cicck cn theßrigade Parade,
South Camp, ar.d thence marched ;o
on which the irigade wns exci ciz,ed in a series cf.

field movements, such as changing front to flank on
detached points, forming echelon, &c. The brigade
is composed of the 2d Battalion 7th Royal Fusiliers.,
2d Battalion 23d Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and the
42d Highlanders. The weather was excessively
cold, and ;.fter the manoeuvres a brisk return was
made to quarters.
On Thur.Ady the 2d Infantry Brigade at Alder-
shot, under command of Colonel Elrington (4th
Battalion Rifle Brigade), Acting Brigadier, formed
upon the Brigade Parade, Centre B'ock, Ferma-
t:ea Barracks, and, after presenting medals for
long service and good conduct to Colour-Sergeant
West, 4th Battalion 60th Rifles, and a private of
the 67th Regiment, proceeded on route march,
taking the line of country leading through the
Long Valley and past Caesar's Camp.to Farnham,
and returning by way of Hale and Heath-end to
quatters, which were reached shortly before one
o'clock. The brigade was composed of the 2d
Battalion 13th Light Infantry, 4th B tttalion GOth
Rifles, 67th Regiment, and the 4th Battalion Rifle
Brigade. On the same day the 3d Infantry Brigade,
consisting of the 2d Battalion 3d Buffs and the 2d
Battalion Rifle Brigade, was exercised in several
field movements and in skirmishing on Cove-cotn-
mon. The B battery, B Brigade, Royal Horse
Artillery, and the A battery of the C Brigade, under
the command of Col. Tod Brow; were also put
through numerous field movements peculiar to that
branch of the service on Eelmoor-hill.

A commencement is to be made in breaking up
the Depot Battalions statione .1 at Chatham garri-
son. Orders have arrived there from the Horse
Guards for the depot of the Ist Battalion of the 2d
(Queen's) Regiment and that of the Ist Battalion
of the 15th Regiment to proceed on Tuesday next
to Gosport, to be attached to the 2d Battalion of
the 2d Regiment stationed there. This order will
take a depot from each of the two Depot Battalions
in Chatham barracks. It would appear from this
order that the authorities intend to futile!) the
depots of corps serving abroad to corps stationed at
home.. By the abolition of the whole of the Depot.
Battalions, it is computed that a reductio❑ of
£14,000 a sear could be effected, by dispensing with
the staff now employed. Should all the depots be
removed from Chatham, it is expected that the
spacious barracks at that garrison which would
thus be left untenanted would be occupied by regi-
ments of the line.

Yesterday Colonel J. W. S. Smith, C. 8., com-
manding the Chatham garrison; during the absence
on leave of Major-General Freeman Murray, the
commandant, inspected the depot of the 82d Regi-
ment previous to its departure, in a few days, to
join the regiment on its arrival home from India.
The Secretary of State for War has accepted the
tender of the Fairbairn Engineering Company for
the iron work of the first of the great armour-.
plated forts at Spithead.
A 35.7t0n Woo,lwich gun is ordered to be-mann
factitredatthe'Royal Gun Factories, RGYal.Ariena'l,.
Woolwich;• to ,compete with one on the Whit_
worth prinCiple, of the same weight, now being
constructed.

The gulis, Stc,,,for the:Viilture, 3, double Screw
gun vessel; now fitting for sea at §heerness, have
been supplied to her from the Chatham Gain Wharf.
Her armament includes two of the 61 ton Wool-
wich pattern guns. _

Her Majesty's turret ship Captain will leave
Liverpool this morning for Portsmouth under the
convoy of the Valiant. On -the passage she will
touch at Holyhead.
_

The screw steam surveying vessel Nassau,.s, w.►s.
put out of Keyham yard ou Thu's lay, and!place4
in No. 4 dock at Deironport to undergo a thorough
repair.

The double screw composite gun vessel Pert, 4,
Commander Jones, having been overhaule 1 and
cleaned, was removed on Thursday fro►n -No. 4
dock in Devonport yard, to moorings in Hattloaz?,.
where she will be stored and victualled for service
on the West Coast of Africa.

The paddlewheel steam sloop BazzArd, 2, St,,ff
Commander Jam, s G. 11. Thain, fl om l'ortsmoT b,
arrived on ihursday at Devonport with kup er u
metary seamen, •among whom weie sjine gunners
for service in the Pert.

A paragraph has lately appeared in Eeveral of
the daily papers stating that the freehold of. Wool-
wich dockyard would be disposed of in plots on the'
21st of next month. This, however, is not the'cAse ;
the sale already announced to commence on that
day comprised the whole of the surplus stores. The
secretary of the.commiftee of house proprietors ire
Woolwich has received an official communicatio❑
from the Admiralty to the effect that the plariS for
the sale are being prepared, but are not yet ready
for issue. It was originally intended to dispose of
the dockyard in time to include the amount in the
Navy Estimates this year, but, owing to the large
quantities of stores in the yard, it has been found
impracticable to do so ; as at present contemplated,
the sale will be held about the end of March or
early in April. At the last meeting of the Wool-
wich Local Board of Health it was decided to me-
morialise the Lords of the Admiralty for the gift
of a portion of the river frontage in the dockyards
for the use of the parish as soon as the plans are
published. _ . _

The following appointments were made yesterday
at the Admiralty :—Wm. Fedarb and James Hook,
engineers, to the Pert ; and Felix Foreman, first-
Class assist.-engineer, to the Pert.

I?.IILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES.

RAILWAY BILLS.

•
The Examiners into the Standing Order Proofs
presided in the House of Commons' Committee-
rooms yesterday.
Before Mr. FRERE the following bills had com-
plied with the Standing Orders :—The Bedford and
Northampton Railway ; the Furness Railway ; the
London, Worcester, and South Wales Railway;
the Greenock Harbour ; the Burnham Tidal Har-
bour; the Liverpool Tramways; the Tottenham
and Hampstead Junction Railway ; the 'Feign
Valley Railway ; the Caledonian and Glasgow and
Soutli-Western Railway ; the London, Blackwall,
and Millwall Extension Railway. These were all
unopposed bills. The opposed North London
Tramways Bill was decided to have complied with
the Standing Orders; the Barnstaple and Ilfra-
combe Railway (No. 1) was withdrawn ; and the
Bude and Torrington Junction Railway was post-
poned until the 10th of February. The North
Metropolitan Tramways had not complied with the
Standing Orders.
Before Mr. ROBINSON, the Belfast Harbour, the
Great Western Railway, the Herefordshire and
Gloucestershire Canal Navigation, the International
Communication, the Metropolitan District Rail-
way, the llereford, Hay, and Brecon Railway, com-
plied with the Standing Orders; and the Bury St.
Edmunds and Thetford Railway Bills had not com-
plied with the Standing Orders.

THE ELECTRIC AND INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH,

Yesterday an extraordinary general meeting of
this company was held at the Loudon Tavern —the
Hon. R. Grimstou in the chair.

Mr. WEAVER, the secretary, having read the no-
tice convening the meeting,

The CHAIR3fAX raid the proprietors had been
called together for the purpose of e:mlirniii!g au
dividend which had been proposed by the
directors for the past half year. The directors had
never taken this course before of proposing an
i:►-
teritn dividend without acco►►nts, though it was
usual in some companies, and he would tell them
why the directors proposed to do it now. It had
bee❑ settled that the Government should take to the
telegraphs at the end of 18G9, so all arrangements
were made to meet that purpose ; but at the last
moment the directors received information from the
Postmaster-General that the plans of the Chancellor
of the-Exchequer for raising the money were not com-
pleted, and that day was fixed for the transfer. Under
these circumstances there was one of tined courses

for the directors to pursue. They might have closed
the accounts at the cnd of December, and have
taken January by itself, but this was a course which
would have caused confusion ; then they might have
postponed making any declaration of dividend
for a month, and that would have been incon
venient ; and the third course is as that. which the
directors had adopted—the proposal of an interim
dividend—which would leave them time to see what
more could be paid. (Cheers.) The register under
his hand was the register on which would be paid
the Government purchase money, and this purchase
money would be paid at the Bank of England on
the 7th of February, while the intirina dividend
would be paid at the company's banker's on the
same day. Before he mentioned the amount which
the shareholders were to receive, it wou!d be well
for them to understand their position. They were
aware that in this coral any.there was no preference
stcck whatever, and the directors thought there was
nothing in the ct mpany's affairs which would re-
quire them to go defore the arbitrator. But that
did not turn out to be the cas2. In 1860 the com-
pany issued 15,000 new shares, which, if they had
been fully paid up, would have been £lO each.
These were issued for the purpose of extinguishing
the deLenture debt of the company, and to make
additions to the system as additions were required.
These shares were not issued to. the public, but
were allotted rateably to the proprietors, and the
very small portion which fell to trustees, and
were not taken up, were sold at a premium for
the benefit of the company. As the debentures
fell in they were paid off, and as lines were. re-
quired they were made ; but when the proposi-
tion for taking over the telegraphs arose only £8 of
the £lO had been paid. The company had no
wore debentures to pay off, and no more lines to
make, so that no more capital was required. Not-
withstanding this, claims were made by certain
shareholders of this stock, who urged that if the
£2 had been called up, that £2 would have been as
good as £5. This point went to arbitration, and
Mr. Liawkshaw, the arbitrator, decided that the
£8 stock should be calculated at £B, and uo more.
Now, as the company stood, it had to decide the
problem of dividing the Government award of
£2,938,826 between the holders of cons ilidated
stuck ;aid orthe 15,00 u shams 9i each. The
directors prutO6ed to pay at once for every £lOO
share £250, and for every share £2O, leasing a
bdance of £14,1:38 10s. to be carried forward to
account for distribution on the capital account. So
much for the purchase account. Then the direc-
tors recommended an interim dividend 9f £lO per
cent. per annum, free of income tar, and there
would be still more to come. lie moved the adop-
tion of the interim dividend.
Mr. NICKLETHWAIT seconded the motion.

A PROPRIETOR asked if it was proposed to divide
the res rye fund, £63,700. He mov,d that it should
be divided at the same time as the other.
The CHAIRMAN said that of course the reserve
fund would be divided, but not at present.
The motion was then carried.

Mr. A. Sim then proposed a special resolution,
authorising the directors to apportion among them-
selves X.10;000 as a payment for their special ser-
vices, and that each of the AttlitOrS should be paid
Mr. Ettsbtu. seconded the motion.

A long discussion ensued, in the'course of which
-an amendment.was Moved to the effect-that the
chairman
,should have £5,000 'alone, and on. this
being put the chairman said he Would have nothing
apart from,his colleagues, for if the amendment
vas carried-he would not accept the money. The
amendment was lost. Another was proposed by
Mr. Southane for the appointment of a committee
to raise a testimonial for the directors.

Mr. PILCHER Leconded the amendment, which
was carried by a majority of three, and the meeting
separated.

11E6TER'S TELEGRAPH.

..kn -extraordinary meeting of this company was
held-yesterdAy at the City Termiuus Hotel, Colouel
J. Hollaudin the chair.

The report was taken as read. •
The CHAIRMAN explained that the purchase-
money amounted to £726,000. He bore testimony
to the .valuable services of Mr. Harcourt, as the
cXripc.ny's counsel, and the services of Mr. Bony is,
the company's solicitor, and stated that the dir,c-
tors recommended special acknowledgments should
lie ykide to the first-gamed gentlea.an. of £l,OOO,
and to the latter of £2,000. • They alio recoin-
men.led that £5,000 should be given to Mr. Reuter,
£4,00 to the directors, and £7,000 given to the
-officers of the company. and others., The sum of til.e
proposals for the future of the company and for the
dis•rtoution were : —l. That the sum of £l7 per
lai.., representing. the capital outlay for. the Nor-
derney.cable‘and land lines be returned to the share-
hotiier6, together with a .bunus of 60 per sou m4l(-
114; a total cash return of £77 pir share. 2. That the
present elpital of the company be reduced to
£BO,OOO,- divi•-led into 10,000 shares of £8 each
that 9,000 of this:: shares, equal to £72,000,
beiu6 approximately the amount raised for the
purchase of the original business, be substituted for
the existing 9,000 shares of . £25 each, leaving
1,000 shares unailotted, as at present, every share-
holder under this arrangement receiving a paid-up
share of £B, in addition to the cash payment of £77
per share. 3. That £7,000 be retained as working
capital for carrying on
.the original business. He
concluded by moving that the report of the direc-
tors upon the distribution of the purchase-money
for the Norderney cable be received, adopted, and
entered upon the minutes.

Mr. I.LVEDAY seconded the motion, and bore
earnest testimony to the arduous work entailed
upon the directors in negotiating the transfer of
the company.
The motion was carried unanimously._ _

The CHAIRMAN then proposed the following re-
solutions, which were seconded by Sir Joing HAT,
and carried unanimously :—" That the 26th
Article of Association be amended by the addition
of the following words :—"l'he company may a'so
from time to time 'by special resolution reduce its
capital.' fhat the 52d Article of Association be
altered and amended as follows The number
of directors shall not be less than three, nor more
than six, exclusive of the managing director.' "
Mr. REUTER and Mr. BOMPAS expressed their
thanks to the meeting for the generous recognition
of their services, and the proceedings terminated.