The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-23 00:00:00

all parties. He asked fur nothing that was unfair to any
party. But t!-.e Hon. Gentleman should be aware, that
there was a reaction peeing on among, the scripholders,
and that a number of persons were buying up scrip for
the purpose of compelling the companies to come up
for their own purposes. He did nut consider that such
jobbers were entitled to much consideration. The
Board of Directors never knew who were the scrip
hollers, nor were they bound by any re-
gulution whatever to abide by their wishes.
The original shareholders had disposed, as far as they
were concerned, of their interest in the original un-
dertaking. They had disposed of all their prospects of
gain, and nothing but the liability remained to them,
and of course they must be anxious that the affairs of
the company with which they were connected should be
settled. The only persons who appeared ro him to hare
N legitimate right to give their opinions, as shareholders
were the persons to whom the original allotment of
shares was made. There was a great facility of giving
annoyance held out by the Right Hon. Baronet to per-
sons who either had or represented themselves to have
some interest as shareholders, and it was only experience
that would make him aware of that circumstance. The
Right Hon. Baronet said that, if a meeting composed of
a certain number of proprietors was call, d, and ex-
pressed its wish for a dissolution of the company, the
directors should be bound by that with. The number
of proprietors was to bo one-third, and if throe-fifths of
the meeting wi'hed for a dissolution the dis-olution was
to be carried. How would the Right Hon. Baronet act
if another meeting of one-third of the proprietors were
to be called in another place,and three-fifths of that meet-
ing were to express a wi. h to go on with the undert Icing?
In conclusion, he trusted that no unnecessary delay
would be allowed to take place in the passing of IrLh
Bills.

Sir ROBERT PEEL could not speak for the House
of Lords; but he proposed that all Bills before
hat Housot which stood for the rending should
he postpone d till a meeting had been held, in
conformity with his vselution. With respect to the
question which the Hon. Gentleman put to him, that a
fleeting were held of only a third of the sharehoLlers,,
three fifths of whom might agree that the Bab should
not be proceeded with, and afterwards another meeting
of another third of the shareholders totl place, who
Nould agree to have the BM pass( d, how were
ihey to decide whether they should read the Bill a
third time, he (Sir R. Pee) could only stay that the
tatter third of the shareholders, to obviate this difficulty,
should take care to be pres nt at the first mean's,.
Mr. BatiNELL regretted that these resolutions had been
brought forward so bite in the session ; had a similar stcp
b.en taken at an earlier period many of the evils whim'
they were now suffering would have been pre vented.
But even now, why were they to alls'w the contirgei4

xpenses_ofcommittees and second readings to be

incurred ? Why were they to suffer partiei to be
t the expense of brnging witnesses from all pans
of the country and providing fur thrtn at
averns for a hug .period of time. lie dared to say
;hat, at the pres(nt moment fr. m- Ilyd;-park-c,rner
to Victoria-park, there coal not be found an
unoccupied bed ut any respectable tavern.—(Hear.)
He contended ,that the course proposed by the Right
Hon. Baronet was not fair to the country a' large. If
hat Right Hon. Gentlemae felt that the public had sub.
keted themselves to great difficulties in the late mania
:f railway gambling, he might have proposed some
other remedy better calculated to meet these
-uses. If he under,tood the propt,siti.m of the
Right Hon. Baronet, it was to the effect that if the

holders of one-firth of the shares in a railway under-
taking, should, at a rn, eting to be advertised, come to
the conclusion that the Bill now be!ore Parliament, to
authorise their projects, the Bill should nit then
be allowed to be proceeded with, but take
the case of the representatives of 900.0001. in
a railway company, would it be just or
reasonable that the holders of 180,0001, which was the
fifth of that sum should be allowed to decide the fate of
the undertaking. The Right Hon. Baronet had very
truly stated that the state of the law on this point
eels very towel min and und, Eked, and the
oppressions that parties had hi en SU bj, cted in
consequence of that uncertainty, had been very great.
In fact, he had a letter from one ntkman, whose
name he did not think proper to menthol, who had ac-
tions commenced against him which w, Wel invelve
him in expenses animal:in:4 to 90,0001. The theme would
probably have read the ammnt or the late action of
Woolmer v. Toby, a new trial had :been moved for and
obtained, and the con4iquence would be that tout':
pr,bably, ler the next eighteen months or two
years, the public would be left quite in the durk
es to the real state of the law eel this question.
Hider these to olutione no Bill, either English,
or Scotch could pass. There would b..: power
enough to carry the second le adkg arid the Bub
to the Committee, and in that time euffi•
cient expenses might be incurred to ruin a great
'natty peop!e. Those were considerntiens which he
would venture to throw out for the consideration of the
Rie,ht Hon. Grntb man, and he would sugeest to him
the propriety of taking stepi for fecilitatitig the winding
sip of railway companies, as few of the bills had reached
their second reading.
The SOLICI Olt-GENERAL rose to support the
tTeprietors which hati been submitted by his Right Hon.
Friend. The first matter a. hich they' had to corsider
was what were the evils which they were seekieg to
remedy. The fiest great evit was that which lied been
alluded to by his Honourable iend who had just
addressed the House trait these companies were totaity
new institutions—something which had not I,etore
exist, d, and therefore .the law lespeeting them was
m 'st complicated. The questions of law which arose
ere most emharras:ing and difficult, in conse-
quence of the extent of the transactions, and the num-
ber of persons etgaged in them. He found
troth the fitatetne-nt wlnen haul been made to the House,
that the railway Bills which had been passed the year
before last, and last. year, would for their completion,
and carrying into effect, requite upwards of one hundred
millions of money.

COMMONS' SUMMARY.
The SPEAKER took the chair at Four "clock
After the presenting of several petitions,
Sir it. nit:L. moved the resolutions of which he had
given notice, with respect to railways. He thought a
case had arisen for Parliament to interfere to prevent the
capital of the country being emploped in useless rail-
way speculations. The total amount of capital
required for railways would, he felt convinced, be much
greater than the Legislature ought to sanction, and under
these circumstances he thought Parliament ought to have
the opinion of the parties themselves as to the exp.:dieney
of carrying on the difter. nt Bees whit which
they were connected. He- believed that there was
a sincere desire on the part of many persona
connected with railways to relieve themselves
from the responsibilities under which they had involuntarny
placed themselves. He was not surprised at this, consPering
the present state of the law with respect to inchoate ioni-
panies—a state which, in his opinion, ought not longer to
exist. Ile thought, coasidering the state of many innocent
and helpless subscribers to railway companies, the Legislature
was called upon to interfere, and if, after Parliament had re-
lieved them frosii the obligation they at present labouie,i
under, parties still continued to spiculate is railways, they
would be no longer objects of sympathy and phy. The Go-
vernment had felt it to be their duty io interfere to put an
end to the improvident speculation that was tt king
Place in the country with respect to railways;
and for that purpos he trusted that the House
would adopt the resolutions he had laid on the table,
in order to further the operations of a Bill which mould be
introduced, giving power to all scripholders of inchoate rail-
way companies to dissolve them if they thought it necessai v.
The Right Hon. Baronet concluded by moving the res .1u
tion of which he had given notice (which appeared in Tier
San of yesterday.)
Mr. F. Fitk.Ncit said if these resolutions were carried, the
effect of them would be materially to delay all Irish Railway
lie trusted that something would be dime to expedite
Last' Railway Bills.
BEILNALL thought that these measure ought to
be put a stop to long before they came to a
third reading. He was pertetly sure that resolutions
like those proposed would not remedy the evils intended to
be removed. Imtneese expense would have :o be incurred,
and all the evils inflicted before the cure could be applied.
Tile SOLICITOR GENERAL supported the resolutioos.