The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-14 00:00:00

THE RAILWAY RELIEF B
Public attention here is as much occupied as iviti •
the " Railway IZ lief Bills," about to be bro 00.6
Parliament; and nun-serous sug:2Pstions are effete shun -- •
discussion and in the letters of correspondents, t}lf
ut
st.engthen its provisions, and to render it trbi'Mt .
ffe tual for the olject in view. None are so earnest
advocated, perhaps. as that already adverted to, whic "
would throw the onus upon directors and provisional 4.V
committees of obtaining a new authority from their con-
stituents before being permitt. d to advance any further.
This, it is hoped, will have Lord Dalhousie's most fa-
vourable consideration. That great difficulties will attend
any sourse whatever which • Parliament may adopt ib
certain, and, what is worse, there is
.no scheme within
human wisdom to devise which will not, amidst ouch
complicated interests as those connected with railways,
the instant it is announced, lead to jobbing, and intrigue,
sod speculation, on an exten,ive scale. This ought not,
.certainly, to stop the Legislature in the nevolent and
accessary attempt to find a remedy for the enormous
~vil which at present exists, but it is right to prepare the
public for the introducti(m thereby of another eyil, of a
less important kind, but of which there were indications
all eady on till sides as soon as it was intimated hi what
mode the Legislature intended to interfere. This may
;)e left to itself until the new Bill has assumed a denite
-hape, bat it will then be brought prominently into public
notice.

There is nothing so, instructive in eases of this sort as
an insi;tht into the position of some of the as:.ociations
iirmn which the new measure is to operate, arid as one
►f a clas,,, we cannot do better than s,•lcct the following,
which is supplied by a coreespondent:—
" In order to give some idea of the relative position,
in law and equity, of parties connected with projected
iines of railway, who are to be protected by the wisdom
of Government, I beg to submit the Fresent state of
•iffairs of a projected line of railway now before Parlia-
ment, in order that you may judge how far the proposed
Act contemplated by Government will effictually reach
hem; or, whether, supposing such Act to pass, we shall
not for the next ten years bounder the necessity of an-
nually passii,g ' An Act to explain and amend an Act
.ilready explained and amended by an Act passed in the
fur payment
ew sh' agreement previous year.'
" No. 1. Are the respective trustees named in the sub-
eachof hsi
su fsc twoi
subscribes
deposit,projectedr
crt:the company,
).nttfierdmshtahlel haveaets thaendexdeleuTsdi vshetashomaftae
competing railways,
management
such,it
thee reemddei
directorsnirnctctoi
ti
f c:thsovet ehuineuftaraeniaitrallss
and that he will abide by, obey, and
respects.

a 2. Are the respective directors of these two projected
companies appoinmd by their deeds, and under the
',towers of which they‘have amalgamated, to avoid un-
accessary ex; Buses in Opposition to each other, and have
bound themselves and their shareholders by various re-
mlutions at board meetings, and by mihsequent deeds or
agreements, to proceed to Parliament for ene Act only,
,vhich by suitable clauses therein sh Ili confirm such
amalgamation, and secure to the shareholders in each
ioo
undertaking.ao4 f
these
companies who still hold their scrip.
p3a. nAyre an
the ecitioal riignitnearies shareholders
hian re thheo ers
or laced it in the
com-
panies, but who have, sold the scrip, p
fur mui ey ad-
" 4. Are original shareholders in these two
hands of other persons as a security .
vaaced.
" 5. Are the scripholders by purchase or loan in one
or both of these companies, but no legal assignment or
transfer of such scrip has been made by any document
rendering them liable in respect of such scrip.
"6. Are the trustees and directors of another pro-
jected railway, who were disabled from proceeding to
Parliamont for want of paid-up capital; and such being
he case, and their line approximating to that contem-
plated to be made by the two first amalgamated com-
panies, the directors of this latter line sold their plans,
Scc., to their opponents, who paid for them partly with
he funds and partly with shares of the amalgamated
company, free of deposit.
" 7. Are the directors of another company who hold
the engagement of the amalgamated company, to take
up 10,000 of their shares within a certain period as the
price of peace in Parliament.
"8. Claim to be creditors of the amalgamated com-
pany for a very large sum more than they have been
paid, for
,services rendered one or both companies in
some way or other, and who have all commenced actions
igainst the committees of one or both of the amalga-
mated companies, and expect to obtain verdicts.
"9. Are the solicitois to the amalgamated companies
who have been sued by various parties for work done for
them, in respect to one or other of the undertakings, but
which claims are considered illegal, and therefore are
resisted, and the amalgamated committee have autho-
rised such actions to be defended, and passed resolutions
to indemnify their solicitors therein.

" 10. Are the finance committee of the amalgamated
companies who have equally contributed (out of their
respective capital) to the deposit now ie the hands of the
Accountant-General, and the deposit has been made in
their joint names.
" These are the relative positions of parties connected
with two companies who have amalgamated, all of whom,
he it understood, are to be protected impartially by
'he means proposed by Government. The first neces-
tary proceeding to become entitled to this protection is
to sign a petition to Parliament not further to entertain
the proceedings of their deliberately constituted trus-
tees, in direct breach of their covenant to abide by and
confirm such proceedings, or to forfeit their deposit.
['he effect of this petition in Parliament will be to hang
op the undertaking until an Act is pissed for putting an
end to it ; the committee or directors, and all other
persons connected therewith or interested therein, in the
eareime to remain shackled with their liabilities to
each other in all matters regarding the affairs of the
undertaking. I beg your readers again to peruse aid
.inderstand the relative position in law and equity the
iiirties I have enumerated, and then say how tar it is
,ikely the measures proposed by Government will acct
their case. Toe Act may put an end to future proceed-
ings in Parliament, and may direct the affitirs of an
undertaking to be wound up, but can it do more than
Phis ? What tribunal is to have power to settle matters
,f contract so intricate and so weighty as those I have
enumerated i What will be the situation of the directors
%rid committees, supposing an assignee to be appointed
by the Act to receive from their hands the last shilling
they hold as an indemnity for their engagements and
contracted for the advancement of their un-
lertaking, and no one competent to release them there-
from ?"
It is unnecessary to pursue further the observations of
this correspondent, the chief object in quoting him being
to show what Parliament will have to deal with, 'and the
entangled state into which these companies in their des
perate attempt to-puss the threshold have been brought.
In the City, people look with a degree of hope to any.
measure which may facilitate the defeat of railroad
schemes now before the Legislature, and compel the
winding up of their affairs, because a great =any will be
thus disposed of, and this is a benefit to be hailed with
gratitude, even though some companies which ought to
b.. broken up still manage to main•ain their ground.
The great difficulty in obtaining payment of calls will.
dim dispose of a great number without any such exter-
nal aid ; and thus the money market, which is the only
matter thought of here, and not the railway system, will
obtain some relief. .
There is another class of correspondents, differing from
those above referred to, who anticipate that whatever
form the Government measure may take, great injustice,
must ensue by stopping, in many cases, good scheir.es
and allowing bad ones to go on ; and these would a'pply
the remedy in a-later stage of the proceedings% *making
it, in fact, form part of any Bill to be obtained hereafter
by a railway company. From one of these, in order to
assist in preparing materials for the approaching discus-
sion, we select the following :
" If a cure of the railway disease is to be effected, it
must be by gentle and not violent means ; a sudden
n
alike
d inthgeuppuobflicc,omapearneivees, be
nue,they g
the
subscribers,
oreri bberasd,, will
local-
ties.
)cauii
iheast.
ev.,,eq.f)t,rvitlhiae cgeh:olauritititihoanveo fi
ttsh eraDi
lt,iskaeyo, li
well irnfettoedn
efforts were made by the principal inhabitants of almost;
every town of consequence to bring their district into
lair competition with their neighbours. Every place,
the trade and traffic of which had been torn away by the
Diversion of the travelling population, promoted under-
takings
prosperity
fthese frommmp
might
tii
ncbghe
eaaxnppdaerctrt
ei
ea
dal t
0. r er
asTttoihvreae tbi
oopnnr
jofief
cdtheir
supporterfl
lo rhm oel rds
their shares and are willing to proceed with the lines.
.vhich they have adopted ; but the effect of the measures
now proposed is to destroy the good schemes, and to
leave those only which are too slightly subscribed for to
be worth the breaking up. The scrip shares of th, really
good companies having been mere freely dealt in, are in
the hands of the many ; a small outlay in scrip at pre-
sent prices by a competing company already established
will secure a majority to destroy a rival, and the neigh-
bourhood to which the line was to run will have inferior
railway accommodation, or none at all for the next ten.
years. _

Would not public interest be secured by—
" 1. Allowing all existing Companies to go through
Committee at as little expense as possible (the great ex-
penses having been already incurred)?
"2. Inserting a general clause that all shares shall be
registered within tour months after passing of the Acts;
all shares not registered, and the register to lie open for
inspection, to be forfeited?
"3. That within two months after the passing of the
Act a general special meeting shall be held, at which a
majority in value of registered shareholders shall deter-
mine whether the undertaking shall proceed, or shall be
abandoned?
"4. That in case of proceeding the subscribers miry
-omplete portions only of their line at one time, baying
unule time allowed tor cowmen:ring and comphiting the
other portions, but., be;ng compellable to tike at any
time on notice any lands to which the compulsory powers
may apply, or to abandon the same, so that landowners;
may not be hindered from improving their estates r_....
Times.

FAST INDIA MUSEUM.—On ...,aturday this interesting
valuable additions hiinontshilleacodelltheatiohne
I lately, establishment,-sbeen
eceent
.asatitsnict
(.lidedbyt ont,l:3lll;als,toolnodpiearsloinouss. e,
Therein Les hdaevne-
eraAl ongei cwalrooanmd GiseoloFt being;-
and
SiTninolianin.gst which are the flat
considerabledepilrtm
ttli:lati.c:ltiatissidateuorribarieria'shfolroferirsacetjetoxirce;indriceBtirtio:anilid°in;lnOAdfibah. gigantic species found in the Hitny-
lava mountains and other hilly districts, which will shortlrbe
thrown open for public inspection.
TUN MANCHESTER CUSTOM HBE
a return of the amount of duties receivedHOUSE.
—t
tfeel haste seen
Custom-house during the quarter ended on the 6t-It instant.;
which shows a great and rapid increase in the business of tins
bonded warehouses here. The amount received during the
last quarter, notwithstanding the general depression in busi-
ness which has existed during a considerable portion of the
time, was no less than :38,4271. ss. 3d ; whilst that received
in the corresponding quarter of 1845, was only 11,043/. ss. 7d-,
showing an increase, in twelve months, of about three-and-,
a-half to ODS.—Mansheeter Guardian. a