The Sun.
London, England, 1846-05-11 00:00:00

• Insert the Number.

LONDON AND YORK RAILWAY.
NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS.
The Directors of the London and York Railway beg leave to an-
nounce that the London and York Bill will go into Committee in the
House of Lords on Wednesday, the 13th instant. Terms of amalga-
mation having been arranged with the Direct Northern Company,
the Parliamentary contest will be reduced to a comparison between
a new independent line on the one band, and an Eastern Counties
and Midland line (twenty-three miles longer than the London and
York) on the other, and under such circumstances little doubt can be
entertained that the contest will be short, and their Lordships' de-
cision speedily given in favour of an independent London and
York line.
The arrangements with the Direct Northern will be satisfactory to
the London and York shareholders, as augmenting the resources of
the Company without any further calls, whilst the reduction of the
nominal amount of the original bondon and York shares from 501. to
25/. will not diminish their market value, the deposit already paid
being upon such 251. shares equal to 101. per cent.
The Directors consider it their duty to warm the Shareholders against
the practices of the Sise-lane Committee, resorted to for the purpose
of misleading them and serving the Eastern Counties' interests.
The Directors believe the Sise-lane Committee to be nothing more
than a mere instrument in tke hands of the Eastern Counties' Com-
pany. Mr. La'Mert, the Chairman, is known to have been a large
holder of Eastern Counties' shares.
At a meeting of the Eastern Counties Company, reported in the
" Railway Times" of the 30th August, 1645, Mr. La'Mert stated that
" he held 1,000 shares in the Eastern Counties Railway as well as
Mr. Scott," who proposed that Mr. Hudson, M.P., should be chair-
man of the Eastern Counties Company.
At another meeting of that Company, reported in the " Railway
Record" and other papers of the Bth February, 1845, Mr. La'Mert is
stated to have spoken of the London and York as their " common
enemy," and added, " he thought they should be in a better position
to do that (viz.. give remuneration to the:Eastern Counties' Directors)
when they had sent the London and York Line to the Devil."
Whether Mr. La'Mert has become the chairman of the Sise-lane
Committee in order to accomplish this benevolent mission, or from a
real anxiety for the interests of the London and York Shareholders,
must be matter of inference. But the Directors would observe that
the very fact he alleges of his becoming the holder of 2,000 London
and York shares in November last, when coupled with the further
fact that he never executed the London and York deed (which was
signed in December), leads to the suspicion that his object was rather
to use the shares to embarrass than to help the Loudon and York
project.
It is also remarkable that In November and December last a series
of abusive letters appeared, addressed to the London and York Share-
holders, signed " One of Yourselves," which letters were evidently
intended to create dissatisfaction with the London and York Board,
and to sow disunion among the Shareholders, in order to prevent par-
ties from sighting the London and York deed.
Within the last week another letter of the same character has
appeared in the papers with the same signature and manifestly from
the same parties.
It is possible, under the specious language adopted by the Com-
mittee, that many Shareholders may have answered their circulars
from the mistaken idea that the Committee was honestly seeking the
good of the London and York Shareholders. But, instead of attend-
ing to their interests, the Influence of the Committee has not only
been used to press upon your Directors the acceptance of unreason.
able proposals from the Eastern Counties, but also in an unsuccessful
attempt to induce the Direct Northern Board to abstain from amal-
gamation by representing the London and York Company as upon
the eve of dissolution though these efforts have been unsuccessful,
they fully disclose the wishes of the parties.
The letters from the London and York shareholders, received by
the Sise-lane Committee, were made use of in order to convince the
Direct Northern Board that the London and York Railway was en-
tirely in the power of that Committee, and would certainly be broken
up by them.
A letter was received on the 6th instant by the Directors from Mr.
La'Mert, requesting them to call a meeting of the London and York
shareholders, with a view to the dissolution of the Company.
The Directors now observe, by advertisement in the public papers,
dated the 7th May, only the day following, that the Sise-lane ,Com-
mittee have taken upon themselves to " arrange terms of amalga-
mation with the Eastern Counties Company" by which any London
and York Shareholder sending to Sise-lane his scrip is promised, that
if " the Extension Line to York of the Eastern Counties Company be
sanctioned by Parliament in the present or next session," he shall r,-
ceire one Eastern Counties York Extension share of 151. for a London
and York 501. share, or for two London and York 251. Extension
shares, and is further promised that each such 151. share shall, when
so issued, be credited with 10s. deposit.
If proof were wanting of the combination between the Eastern
Counties Company and the Sise-lane Committee, this advertisement
amply supplies it.
The Directors can only express their surprise at the effrontery of
the Sise-lane Committee In attempting to impose upon the Share-
holders a stock now selling below the price cf the London and York
shares, and which would therefore be much more profitably obtained
on the Stock Exchange than through the medium of the Size-lane
Committee. The Directors must also express their extreme regret
that the Eastern Counties Board should lend itself to so unworthy a
mole of attack, instead of meeting the case before the proper tribunal,
and proving, if they can, the superiority of their scheme.
The Directors, however, feel that it is the very want of substantive
merits on the part of the Eastern Counties schemes which induces
them to resort to so unusual a mode of warfare ; and the London and
York Shareholders will not fall to infer the superior value of their
own scheme from the incessant and unscrupulous attempts of the
Eastern Counties Company to destroy it.
The pretence, however, is too apparent to deceive, and the Direc-
tors rely upon the support of their Shareholders in the arrangements
with the Direct Northern, confident in the hope that within a few
weeks an independent trunk line ftom London to York will be sanc-
tioned under an Act of the Legislature.
Early notice will be given for a general meeting of the London and
York Shareholders, pursuant to the resolutions of Parliament, when
their opinion will be taken. by vote, and the Bill will be submitted
for their approval ; and in the meanwhile the Directors request that
the scrip may be forwarded to the offices of the Company in the
manner explained in a separate advertisement, accompanied by an
expression of their wishes,