The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-27 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The SPEAKER took the Chair at Half-past Three
o'clock.
THE NEW HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.
Mr. FORSTER moved for a message to the Lords for
a copy of the report on the Progress of the Building of
the Houses of Parliament.

The motion was agreed to, and a message was ac•
cordingly sent to the Lords.
DEBTOR AND CREDITOR.

Mr. WARBURTON obtained leave to bring in a Bill
to amend the law of debtor and creditor.

CORN-LAWS.

Mr. B. ESCOTT gave notice that he would move to-
morrow for a return of the amount of duties paid on
wheat, barley, peas, and beans, since the passing of the
Corn law Act, which account was to be made up to the
date of the return.
SMALL DEBTS BILL.
On the motion of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL,
the Lords' amendments to this Bill were read and
agreed to.

PAWNBROKERS' BILL.
The Lords' amendments to this Bill were agreed to.
The House then adjourned, at half-past Four o'clock,
till half-past Two o'clock to-morrow.

LONDONDERRY AND ENNIS-
KILLEN RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)
- The ordinary half-yearly meeting of this Company
was held to-day, at one o'clock, at No. 5, Church- passage,
Guildhall; J. J. Frith, Esq., in the chair. The Directors
present were, Sir 3. R. Campbell, Mr. Thomas, Mr.
G. Tyrrell, Mr. Warren, Mr. Clay, and Mr. Hanbury.
Very few shareholders were present.
The advertisement convening the meeting having been
read, the seal of the Company w as affixed to the register
- of proprietors; and the minutes of the preceding meet-
ings having been read and confirmed,
Mr. HEMMING (the Secretary) read the report of the
directors, which stated that they had had reason to ex-
pect that it would have been in their power to have
• fixed the day for opening the line between Londonderry
and Strabane, and that this event would have taken place
within a week or ten days of the present time. Every
arrangement was made, not only for the completion of
the works, but for the commencement of the traffic on
the Ist of September ; and the contractor could
with ease have accomplished his works, if the
due payment of the calls had placed the necessary
funds at the disposal of the directors. The works
are still proceeding to an extent commensurate with
the means provided. The directors regretted that the
very considerable amount of arrears had, for the present,
frustrated their exertions, and deceived their expecta-
tions. But fir this, the important and profitable portion
of the lino, from Derry to Strabane, would have now
been open to the public; and the Company would be
fast approaching that high position among the commer-
cial enterprises of Ireland, which the directors hoped
it was ultimately destined to attain. The leniency hitherto
shown, by not enforcing the payment of arrears of calls,
had been, thus far, attended with a beneficial result;
payments to a considerable amount had recently been
made by shareholders, who, if more severe measures had
been adopted at an earlier p' rigid, would have found
great diffe.ulty in meeting their engagements. It was
fur the shareholders who had paid their calls, and who
might with good rens, n hate felt that further indulgence
to the defaulters was an act of injustice to themselves, to
decide whether this leniency should now have a limit, or
whether that discretion, which there is reason to believe
bad hitherto been conducive to the general inte-
rests of the country, should continue to be exer-
cised. The directors impressed upon the share-
holders the urgency for their co-operation to com-
plete the line to -Strabane, which might still be
timsned before the end of the present year. The open-
lag of the line would save one day's post between Derry
8114 Dublin, and otherwise produce changes of great
loca2 importance, with every prospect of a fair return to
the shafeholders, on which point the directors had not
seen a:'ion to change their opinion. Anticipating the

difficulty which was now generally felt in procuring en- •
gines, they have ordered sufficient to open the line ;
carriages and trucks:also would be ready to meet the
public wants, ss soon as the funds at their dis-
posal were adequate to meet the current liabilities.
the Act of Parliament for the alteration of the line had
been obtained. Eight miles of the permanent way of the
Strabane line had been laid ; and the remainder of that
portion of the line was in such a forward state as only to
require the co-operation of the shareholders to ensure its
being opened for traffic at an early day. The members
of the deputation who visited the works were much gra-
tified at being enabled to satisfy themselves, by personal
observation, of the increasing commercial importance of
Londonderry, and the general character of its imports and
exports. According to the Central Railway Act, four of
your directors and one of your auditors go out of office
by rotation. The four gentlemen who leave the direction
are Philip Hanbury, John Leathem, George Tyrrell,
and Daniel Warren, Esqs., and the auditor, John
Elliott, Esq. They are all eligible, tied offer them-
selves for re-election. It is gratifying, continued the
report, to be able to refer to a palpable benefit already
conferred upon the locality by the construction of these
works ; and the more so as it gives reasonable
hope of increasing prosperity and happiness to
Ireland. At the recent spring assizes at Londonderry,
the presiding judge, referring to the light character of
the calendar, stated his conviction that the same was
mainly attributable to the labour provided by the rail-
ways in progress, notwithstanding so large a number of
strangers had been attracted to, and were employed in,
the formation of the works; and with this and similar
testimony to the benefit which Ireland derives from her
railways, it is surely not unreasonable to expect that
her Majesty's Government will see the policy of doing
something to redeem those enterprises from the de-
pression under which, from various causes, they all,
more or less, are labouring. The accounts were made
up to the 31st July, 1846, but since that period they
had received calls amounting to 8,110/.
A report from the engineers, Messrs. Stephenson and
Ross, was read, which stated that the works, as far as they
had been executed, were highly creditable to the com-
pany and the contractor ; and that it was a matter of
serious regret to them that inability to meet the certi-
ficates for works executed had delayed the completion
of the contract, which, but for such impediments, could
have been now completed. They expected that the
completion of the works to Strabane would take place
before the end of the year, if not sooner. That portion
of the line, not only promised much traffic, but, from
the circumstance of the Dublin mails, as now arranged,
meeting in Derry, the opening of this line would hasten
the mails sufficiently to enable the merchants of Derry
to answer their letters the same day ; in fact, bring
Derry one day nearer to Dublin and London, fur all
purposes of commerce.
The balance sheet set forth the receipts at 73,383/.
7s. 6d.; the expenditure, 67,2111. 12s. 5d.; balance at
bankers, 6,171/. 15s. id. Receipts since last half-yearly
report, 29,381/. 4i. 5d.; expenditure, ditto, 30,2021.35. 2d.
The CHAIRMAN said he had very little to remark upon
with respect to the affairs of the company, as the report
which they had heard read, entered so fully into detail,
except to express his regret and the regret of those with
whom he acted at the tone of complaint which they
were compelled to manifest with regard to the non-pay-
ment of calls. It was a source of great disappointment
to the directors that the line had not yet been opened as
far as Strabane, which, but for the non-payment of those
calls, would have been opened at the end of this month.
They had now, in his opinion, obtained a very valuable pro-
perty, and it would be their own fault if it was not
opened from end to end early in the ensuing year.
Mr. SKINNER inquired if a list had been made out of
the shareholders who had not paid their calls ?
The CHAIRMAN said such a list had been made out ;
it would be necessary to ask the shareholders how the
directors should act with respect to those defaulters,
whether it would be advisable to resort to legal proceed-
ings or not.
Sir J. R. CAMPBELL said he was applied to by the
board to superintend the making out of the list and to
examine into its accuracy. It would not be well, he
thought, to produce the list publicly, but the shareholders
might inspect it at the secretary's office.
Mr. THOMAS (deputy•chairman of the Chester and
Holyhead Company) thought it would not be advisable
to produce the list, as their condition as a company might
be thereby deteriorated.'
A DIRECTOR said that, probably, if the defaulting
shareholders knew that the calls were limited to 151. per
share, and the traffic on the line would yield them 51.
per cent., they would be induced to pay up at once.
Mr. SKINNER wished to know if his impression was
correct that the line was not to be carried further than
Strabane without the consent of the shareholders ?

The CHAIRMAN said the impression was perfectly
correct. When the line was completed to Strabane they
should call the shareholders together and say, " There
is a property created for you, will you go further or
not ?" The amended Act of this session did not alter
the amount of capital, it was merely an Act to alter the
course of the line.

t._
Mr. VANDEPUT recommended the carrying of the line
ten miles beyond Strabane, to Newton Stewart.
Mr. WATSON inquired if the line was fifteen Irish or
English miles in length ?
The SECRETARY said English miles. All Irish rail-
ways were measured in English miles.
Mr. WATSON said he had recently been in Derry, and
having made several inquiries respecting the line, he
found that the traffice between that town and Strabane
was so considerable as to entitle it to the appellation of
its " spiciest" portion. They would, he believed, have
so much traffic on the fifteen miles that they would be
encouraged to extend it. _

„ •
'The CHAIRMAN stated, in reply to a question, that
the amount of unpaid calls, in addition to the 12!. paid,
was upwards of 30.000/.
Mr. WATSON said it might be some satisfaction to the
shareholders to know that the agricultural traffic was as
good, if not better, in winter than in summer.
A SHAREHOLDER inquired if more than the 151. would
be required for completing the line, and, if not, whether
the directors intended to call upon those who had paid
their 151. to pay an additional amount ?
The CHAIRMAN said a meeting would have to be
called to determine the matter ; and if there was a de-
ficit, that they must help the directors to get rid of it.
Sir J. R. CAMPBELL said a circular had been sent to
those shareholders who had not paid up all their calls,
and that the replies which they had sent were couched
in a friendly spirit, some saying that they would pay at
stated periods, others that it was their intention to do
so, and promising to fulfil the wishes of the directors as
soon as possible. The probability was, if legal proceed-
ings were adopted, that they would rather lose than
gain. It would be well to leave the matter in the hands
of the directors, in order that they might exercise their
discretion as to the best mode of obtaining the money.
The CHAIRMAN said, since the making up of the ac-
counts, 6001. of the first calls, 1,7251. of the second,
1,687/. 10s. of the third, and 3,9851. had been received,
making altogether 8,110/.
The report was then read and adopted.
A resolution was next passed empowering the di-
rectors to adopt such course for recovering the arrears
as they might think fit, and as might be most condu-
cive to the interests of the Company in each particular

case.
The retiring directors were then re-elected, a vote of
thanks passed to the chairman and directors for their
services, and the meeting separated.

SOUTH YORKSHIRE COAL, AND

_
GOOLE AND DONCASTER RAILWAY.
(THIS DAY.)
A meeting of the shareholders in this amalgamated
undertaking was held to-day at the London Tavern,
Bishopsgate• street, for the purpose of receiving the re-
pne t of the directors as to their success in obtaining their
Bill during the present session. The meeting was nu-
merously attended, and the chair taken at one o'clock
by Charles Thompson, Esq.
The solicitor having read the advertisement, by which
the meeting had been convened,
The CHAIRMAN said—Gentlemen, owing to the absence
of Lord Wharncliffe and Lurd Fitzwilliam, the duty de-
volves upon me of presiding to-day. Lord Wharncliffe
has been taken ill with a severe attack of the gout, which
prevents his attendance. We have not been so success-
ful as we expected in the last session of Parliament, but
at the same time we have cleared the road for future
proceedings. We have been placed in a very painful
situation, owing to the delays that have arisen in the
different Committees, in which we have had to defend
our case from no less than nine competing lines, of
which, I think, seven have been completely defeated, and
with one we have made arrangements to take hall
the line from the Sheffield Grange to Barnsley,
involving a capital of about 450,0001., which will
be distributed among the shareholders of the Goole and
Doncaster and South Yorkshire Amalgamated Com-
panies, one share for every five, provided those gentle-
men wish to take them, and if they decline to take the
shares we have companies and persons ready to take up
the whole of the shares that may be so refused. The
expenses attending the Parliamentary proceedings have
been much greater than we anticipated at our last meet-
ing. We said then that we supposed that they would
be ss. or 7s. on every share.
A SHAREHOLDER--2s. 6d., or ss.
The CHAIRMAN—Very well, 2s. 6d., or ss. Since
that time we have been put to various heavy
expenses in the House of Commons and the
House of Lords, which have run up
.the expenses
to about 10s. per share. The remainder of the
deposits will be returned to those parties that shall
signify their assent to take some of the Goole and Don-
caster shares at 31s. ; the South Yorkshire sham s at 30s.
All those persons that wish to withdraw from the Com-
pany, and send their scrip, may have the whole of the
remainder of their deposits paid at the bank.—(Hear,
n( ar.) But as our position is now perhaps one of the
bst in .he kingdom, I may safely say that where there
were nine lines and nine capitals deposited with the
Accountant-General for this very ground that we
wish to occupy, it would be suicide on the part of
any shareholders in these lines to take their money back.
We have now almost a prospect of certainty of obtaining
our lines in the next year. We have the assistance of
every landowner on the line, and I believe, were it not
the sake of the tolls which Parliament levies on any
line of railway, those landed proprietors would make the
line upon their own proFery.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. Baxter
will read the report, which I hope will be satisfactory to
you.

- Mr. BAXTER accordingly read the directors' report,
which gave a history of their labours during the pre-
sent session, and concluded by recommending the share-
holders to continue the scheme, as they entertained the
most sanguine hopes of obtaining the line in the ensuing
session. This recommendation was received with loud
applause.
air CHARLES DOBSON then said—Gentlemen, it ap-
pears to Inc that the observations that have fallen from
our worthy Chairman, as well as the report which has
been read by , the secretary, are as satisfactory as could
by possibility, under the circumstances, be anti•