The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-01 00:00:00

IRISH GREAT WESTERN RAIL-
WAY (DUBLIN TO GALWAY).
A special general meeting of the proprietors, share-
holders, and scripholders, took place on Friday at the
offices of the Company, in Whitehall-place, in pur-
suance of the sessional orders of the Houses of Par-
liament ; Mr. Fitzstephen French, M.P., in the chair.
The SECRETARY having read the advertisement con-
vening the meeting,
The CHAIRMAN stated that he had received three hun-
dred letters from different parties, who held 13,000 shares in
the Company, empowering him to vote that the Bill
shuuld be proceeded with in Parliament. The spirit of
those letters perfectly satisfied him that the directors
had acted rightly in disregarding the various attacks
made upon the Company in the public prints. The
shareholders were no doubt aware that at a former
meeting a proposition was made for leasing the line to
the Cashel Company ; in consequence of that proposal
a meeting was held of the influential shareholders of
the Cashel line, at which a resolution was passed that
it 'was expedient for the Cashel Company to purchase
the Galway line. Mr. Carr, the deputy chairman of
the Cashel Company, went over to Ireland in conse-
quence of that resolution, and called a special meeting
of the Cashel Company to consider the matter; at that
meeting a sub-committee was appointed to investigate
the merits of the proposition ; that committee reported
that it was not usual for an existing company to agree
to lease another which had not obtained its Act, and it
was therefore proposed, as soon as the Act of incorpora-
tion of the Irish Great Western Railway received the
royal assent, the Cashel Company should purchase the
line at 41. per share, without any deduction for expenses.
This offer to their own board, being proposed upon the re-
ceipt of it, the directors passed a resolution to the
effect that they considered the offer a fair one, and that
they were prepared to carry it out if it were sanctioned
by the shareholders, and the agreement was subsequently
confirmed by the board of the Great Southern and
Western Railway Company, and immediately afterwards
advertised in the Globe, with the view of preventing undue
speculation in the shares. The shareholders were aware
that they were now called upon to decide whether they
would proceed with their Bill or not. He did not know
whether it was necessary to trouble the meeting with
any remarks upon the merits of the Bill ; but he
should be happy to hear any observations from any
honourable proprietor who might choose to make them.
He was quite ready to give any explanation that might
be required.
Mr. YOUNG, the solicitor, then read a breviate of the
Bill, and
The CHAIRMAN said it was for the meeting to decide
whether they would go on or not.
Mr. D. W. HARVEY said that there could not be a
shareholder present who could object to the negotiation
which had taken place with the Great Wsstern and South-
ern Company, because in the present state of the money
market the arrangement which had been entered into
was most advantageous to them ; and he thought that
the cordial thanks of the meeting were due to the di-
rectors for having brought the concern to so favourable
an issue. He wished to call the attention of the di-
rectors to a most important point :—should any obstacle
arise in Parliament preventing the clause of sale from
being inserted, he would wish to know what would be
the condition of the Company.---(Hear, hear.) He took
it for granted, from the accounts which had been read of
what took place at other meetings, that the majority of
shareholders were disinclined to proceed with the Bill
unless the agreement with the Cashel Company were
carried into effect ; and, certainly, if it was not, he for
one should vote against the further progress of
the Bill—(Hear, ear)—for although Irish ca-
pitalists were ready enough to use railways made
with English capital, they always evinced a decided
disinclination to subscribe their own money towards
carrying out those legitimate undertakings, and if he
consented to the proceeding with the Bill without any
such arrangement being entered into he should be in
curring a very heavy responsibility indeed.—(Hear,
hear.) Under these circumstances, he put it to the
meeting whether they ought not to have some under-
standing that, in the event of the agreement which had
been made with the Great Southern and Western Com-
pany not being sanctioned by the Legislature, the fur-
ther progress of the Bill should be stopped. He would,
therefore, move an amendment, pledging the directors
to such a course.
Mr. STANFORD said he quite agreed with what had
been said by Mr. Harvey, but he wished to make a few
observations in reference to an attack made upon him by
the directors of the Company, through the medium of an
advertisement, namely, that he did not hold a single
share in the undertaking, and that he was retained to
oppose the line by another rival company. Now such
was not the fact. He held 500 shares, and it was the
fact of his having a very serious interest in the concern
which induced him to act in the manner which he did.
He considered that the agreement entered into with the
Cashel Company amounted to nothing. They had merely
the promise of the directors to endeavour to make their
shareholders agree to the proposition. He would there-
fore propose that the meeting should be adjourned until
a meeting of the shareholders of the Great Southern
and Western should have been convened, and until they
had expressed their assent or dissent to the arrange-
ment.—(Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN observed that such an amendment
could net be put at that meeting, as it had been con-
vened for a specific purpose, which they were obliged to
fulfil.

Mr. COLLETT, M.P., assured the meeting that there
could be no doubt that the shareholders of the Great
Southern and Western would approve of the proposal.
He was a director of that Company, and could state from
his own knowledge that most of the influential share-
holders were favourable to it.
The O'CoNoa Dox observed that the line possessed
great intrinsic merits, and that would be a sufficient rea-
son for going on with the Bill.
After a desultory conversation, the polling commenced,
when it was discovered that 15,793 shares were in favour
of proceeding with the Bill, and 500 were against it,
the whole number of shares representing the capital of
the Company amounting to 27,000, and the only dissen-
tient shares being those of Mr. Stanford.
The meeting then separated.