The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-18 00:00:00

THE CORN WALL AND DEVON

CENTRAL RAILWAY.

A public meeting of the shareholders in this project was
yesterday convened at the London Tavern. The meeting was
advertised to take place at twelve o'clock, but at that hour
there wore no more than four persons present. In about
half an hour after that time,
Mr. CLIPPERTON, the solicitor for the shareholders calling
the meeting, addressed the gentlemen present. He begged
to inform them that the meeting was called for the purpose
of allowing those who wished to withdraw from the further
prosecution of the scheme, to come to resolutions to that
effect. He trusted that none but scripholders would be pre-
sent, and he very much regretted the thin attendance, but he
had hopes that by waiting till one o'clock many more would
arrive. He had to request that gentlemen should either
produce their scrip, or' give their names, in order to make
the meeting a bond fide affair.
A SHAREHOLDER—I must object to giving names. I have
scrip which will prove me the representative of one thousand
shares, but there will be many here in a short time who may
not bring such proofs, and it would be too bad to parade
their names before the public, and on the other hand it would
be unjust to exclude them.
, Mr_ . CLIPPERTON—WcII let us wait till one o'clock.
_ .

, i A SamtEmoLDEß—There s to be a meeting on the 30th
which is to be convened by the directors of the Company.
That meeting, I understand, is the legal one. I have great
confidence in the character of the gentlemen at the head of
the Company.
Mr. CLIPPERTON—I should be the last person to throw a
shadow of a doubt upon your opinion of those gentlemen,
for no one will say that they are not highly honourable. If
we do nothing else, it must be clear that the steps we have
taken brought the directors to call a meeting for the 30th
inst., at which period we shall learn what steps are to be
taken by those gentlemen. -
Mr. BOYD—I am a shareholder, and I can inform the
meeting that the directors will recommend the scheme to be
kept on for another ses.ion of Parliament. They will, I un-
derstand, return you 11. per share, and the remaining sum
of money is to go towards paying the expenses.
After some desultory conversation, it was proposed that the
chair should be taken.

➢lr. BOYD, having been called to the chair, said he could
only inform the meeting that he was entirely opposed to
what he understood to be the intentions of the directors re-
garding the intention of going on with the project. He
was certain that they had entered into an agreement with the
South Western Company, and that would make it very diffi-
cult for them to dissolve the company with advantage to the
shareholders. The agreement recommended certain amalga•
mations with that company, which could never have a bene-
fici Al result. After some further observations to the same
effect,
A SHAREHOLDER said that he could not look upon the
meeting in any other light than that of a most irregular one
He was favourable to the dissolution of the company, but he
would not sanction anything like a censure of the conduct of
the directors, who were highly honourable men, and who
would, no doubt, lay such statements before the meeting on
the 30th as would explain the whole affair.
Mr. OSBORcE said he attended this meeting lo represent
the interest of a large body of shareholders at Exeter, and
he was of opinion that it would be better to wait till the
regular meeting before anything like censure should be
passed upon the conduct of men known to be highly re-
spectable. He would move that the meeting should be ad-
journed to a future day.
A SHAREHOLDER—I have great faith in the directors, and
although I am in favour of winding up the affairs of the
company, still I am willing to give any shareholder present
thirty shillings a share for every share he wishes to dispose
of.—(Cheers.)
After some further conversation of a most uninteresting
nature, it was carried, nem. con., that the meeting should be
adjourned till the 30th inst.

THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN

INSTITUTE.

The seventh soiree of this Society was given on Thursday,
at their rooms, in George-street, and notwithstanding the
very numerous attractions in other quarters, particularly in
the musical world, it was very fully attended by a large
number of the members and their families. As usual, the
evening was opened with instrumental and vocal music, in
which Mr. Sloper, Mr. Rousselot, and Miss Steele were par-
ticularly distinguished. After refreshments, which were
served in the saloon, a number of interesting exhibitions
were passed under review. Among these was a complete set
of night signals, invented by Mr. Rettie, civil engineer,
which, by a variety of combinations in coloured glasses,
transmitting a most intense light, a series of announcements
and directions can be made, as perfectly as by any code of
signals used during the day; and when adopted by steam-
vessels, in motion or at anchor, and by railroad trains
meeting at night, would prevent many of those frightful acci-
dents of collision, by which so much life and property have
hitherto been destroyed. There were also in the rooms a
large collection of ancient coins and medals, including Egyp-
tian, Grecian, and Roman. And to these were added some beau-
tiful specimens of carvings in ivory, produced by a mechanical
process, the invention of Mr. Cheverton, by which busts and
tablets may be copied on a reduced scale, with unerring pre-
cision, and the finest works of art therefore brought within
the means of persons of moderate fortune. Among the busts
were those of Shakspere and Milton, from the originals by
Roubillac, and of modern ones, those of the late Lord Western,
Dr. Dalton, and Dr. Babington ; and of living persons one of
Sir Charles Forbes, from the statue by Sir Francis Chantrey,
all admirable likenesses. The most exquisite specimens,
however, were those of the emblematical representations of
morning and evening, in basso relievo, by the Danish sculp-
tor Thorwaldsen, which were quite equal to anything pro-
duced by Benvenuto Cellini.
The literary works reviewed during the evening in-
cluded a forthcoming publication of a young, but rising
English artist, Mr. Henry Cook, who, during a
two years' resii;ence at Rome, made excursions from
it to the most interesting spots in Central
Italy, and brought from thence a rich portfolio of splendid
drawings. These have been since lithographed by his own
hand, and are accompanied by letter-press descriptions in
English and Italian, from his own pen, proving together a
most interesting and beautiful folio volume. Mr. Pritchard's
Natural History of Man also underwent a critical examina-
tion - and opened up the whole subject of Ethnological science,
which were fully and freely discussed, especially in elucida-
tion of the great question of the origin of the divers races of
mankind. _

In the interval between the music and the literary
descriptions, refreshments were served in the saloon, and an
appropriate address from the resident director terminated the
proceedings of a ♦ery varied and agreeable evening.

EXHIBITION OF PRINCE ALBERT'S STOCK AT
THE DUBLIN AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

WINDSOR, THURSDAY EVENING.-It
recol-
lected that last year his Royal Highness Prince Albert
exhibited at the Agricultural Cattle Show, Dublin, a
couple of short-horned oxen, fattened upon Flemish
Farm, which, although not considered to be entitled to
a prize, were very highly commended by the judges.
They were very splendid animals, having been sold to
one of the principal butchers in Dublin for seventy
pounds and seventy guineas respectively. This year the
Prince again exhibited at the Dublin Show ; the animals
being a twin ox and heifer, which were bred in the
north, and also fattened upon Flemish Farm. They
were conveyed from Slough to Bristol by the Great
Western Railway, and there shipped for Dublin, under
the care of Mr. Yates, his Royal Highness's bailiff. Her
Majesty also exhibited, at the same time, four Cochin-
China fowls (three hens and a cock), reared at the royal
aviary in the Home Park, under the superintendence of
Mr. Walter, the Queen's head poulterer. One of the
hens, known as " Old Bessy," laid the extraordinary
number of 94 eggs during 103 days, previously to its
being sent to Ireland. A peculiarly constructed cage
was made, agreeably to the suggestions of the Prince
Consort, by Mr. Welman, ironmonger, of this town, in
which to convey them from Windsor to Dublin, where
they arrived perfectly free from injury. A letter arrived
at the Castle from Ireland this morning c mveying the
intelligence that although very fine beasts, the Prince's
ox and heifer had not been fortunate enoug'i to have a
prize awarded to them.

DREADFUL FERRY-BOAT ACCIDENT AND Loss OF
LlFE.—Much painful sensation was produced in Bangor,
North Wales, on Easter Monday, by an accident of an appal-
ling kind, which completely marred the festivities of the day.
A few minutes past 12 o'clock the ferry-boat, managed by
one man and a boy, with, it is calculated, some fifteen pas-
sengers, of both sexes, started from the off, or Anglesey side,
for Bangor, and before they had got good steerage-way on the
craft she was struck by a squall, heeled over, tilled, and went
clown. Boats from the ferry-house put off to the assistance
of the struggling people, as soon as was practicable, and
thirteen persons, including the crew, were picked up in less
than a quarter of an hour, and conveyed to the ferry-house.
In the course of an hour medical aid was had from Beau-
mauris, and exerted in such cases as needed assistance with
success, save in the case of two, namely, William Rowlands,
of Trecastell, Penmon, near Beaumaris, a respectable and in-
telligent farmer, thirty-four years of age, who has left a
widow and eight children to bewail his untimely fate, and
Anne Owen, single woman, aged twenty-four, a native of
Beautnauris, on the eve, alas! of being united to the object
of her affections. The ferry, which is called the Garth ferry,
is situated about two miles and a half from the far-famed
Menai suspension-bridge, and is a great sea thoroughfare,
one mile in extent at high water. When strong winds pre-
vail, as was the case last Monday, there is a heavy sea run-
ning; i but a long term of years' impunity from accident had
• •
inspirer' the utmost confidence in the passage and boats,
which are considered good sea-boats—now unfortunately
Adit 011.