The Sun.
London, England, 1846-09-05 00:00:00

ettrb Mbittolv,

LEICESTER AND BEDFORD
RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)
A meeting of the shareholders in this Railway Com-
pany was advertised to take place to-day, at the London
Tavern, at one o'clock, for the purpose of determining
whether the Company should be dissolved or not. At
the hour appointed for the meeting to take place there
were a great number of shareholders present.
Robert Linsdell, Esq., was unanimously called to the
chair, and after the necessary forms had been :zone
through, and Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Lowry, and Mr. Old-
tore had been appointed scrutineers,
The CHAIRMAN stated that, in consequence of the-
indisposition of their Chairman, the duty was imposed'
upon him of reporting to the meeting the proceedings.
that ha,l taken place since the last meeting, and also the.
present position of the Company. After having passed'.
through the severest ordeal, and obtained the unanimous:
decision of ,N Committee of the House of Commons in,.
their favour, ,they had been defeated in a quarter where,
they had the l'east reason to expect it---(Hear, hear)-4
and under circumstances upon which he would note
dwell. Their fe.ilure had not been occasioned by`
any want of ,Nttention on the part of the
directors, or of skill in their professional!
agents, but it was to i'e attributed to the peculiar and.
unfavourable constitution of the tribunal by which their
cause had been defeateel. The question now was,
whether they should prosece'te their scheme or dissoilve
the Company?—(Cries of " so, no.") He would ask
whether, bearing in mind the proceedings that had taken:
place, five gentlemen of the Hoeise of Commons were
not as likely to come to a right conclusion on a ques-
tion of commercial enterprise as e 7 similar number
of Peers of the realm ?—(Hear, hear.) It should.
also be remembered, that whilst the decision
of the House of Commons in their favour was
unanimous, the decision against them was carried only,
by one, and that individual happened to be the bosom:
friend of their successful competitor.—(Hear, hear.) Hes
thought it would be necessary to dissolve the present;
Company, ia order to reconstruct it upon more favour-
able terms. Notwithstanding the arduous contest in
which they hod been engaged in Parliament, their ex-
penses would not exceed ice. per share; consequently
they would be able to return to the proprietors 6s. per
share. A proposition had been made to them by .the
London and York Company, if they would join
with them, to find half the capital to carry
out the scheme, and also to
..nay half the
1 expenses. They proposed to allow the funds
of the united companies to be credited to .half the ex-
penses. This would render it necessary to i -educe the
shares of the present scheme from 201. to 101., a. 'id a call
of Gs. per share in addition to the 6s. proposed to be re-
turned would make the value of the new share 's 20s.
The worthy chairman concluded by proposing, " That
the present Company should be dissolved, for the Vett.-
pose of being reconstructed upon the terms proposed."
faMr. A se'eLL, the Chairman of the London and Yorik
Company, sectonded the motion.
Mr. FRANKLIN then addressed the meeting, and read.:
a letter he had addressed to Mr. Hudson, the Chairman.
of the South Midland, suggesting to him the propriety
of endeavouring to ecete to some terms with the Leices-
ter and Bedford Railway Company, to which Mr.
Hudson had replied, that if the meeting thought proper
to appoint a deputation to meet him upon the subjectjui
would endeavour to make an arrangement if possible...
Now, what benefit did the proposition of the directors;
hold out to the meeting ? Why, that their property.
wottld be made worth 20s. He had no doubt, if
they came to an arrangement with Mr. Hudson
and the .Mridland Railway, their property would be worth,
305., insteeti of 20s. He trusted, under these circum-
stances, that the meeting would be adjourned for a week,
and that a devutation would be appointed to meet Mr,
Hudson.—(Heml. hear.) The Hon. Gentleman con-
eluded by moving, ,as an amendment, that the meeting
should adjourn for a 17eek-
Some considerable docussion took place upon this,
which ended in the amendment being withdrawn, and
the original motion for the eiissolution of the Company
was declared to be carried unal.limously, that dissolution
notto be considered an act of banisZeuptcy.
It was also agreed that Mr. Rici2ardson, eNfr. Corrie,
and Mt‘. Franklin should, together 'with the ,directors,
form a deputation to wait upon Mr. Hudson.
The meeting then broke up.

DERBY ELECTION.
OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF THE POLL.,
DERBY, FRIDAY MORNING, ELEVEN O'CLOCK.—;Cho
official declaration of the poll has just been made by the
Mayor, in the presence of a large body of inhabitants, .'it
the Town-hall, and the bells of the different churche.t
are ringing merrily. The satisfactory result of the elec-
tion has given pleasure to the vast majority of the town.
Mr. Strutt was received with plaudits on entering the
Town-hall at ten o'clock this morning. Sir Digby
. .

lifaCkworth did not make his appearance.
The MAYOR having cast up the books, declared the
state of the poll to be as follows:
Strutt 835
Mackworth
Majority for Mr. Strutt —276
The announcement of ale numbers was received with

loud cheers.
Mr. STRUTT then rose, and was received with loud
applause. He said, the electors had again placed him
in the proud position of one of their represent atives in
Parliament, and with most grateful, most heartfelt
thanks did he receive this renewed proof of their confi-
dence. Not only had he to thank them for the honour
they had thus done him, but he had to thai:k them still
more for the proud position in which they hod placed
him on the poll—(Loud cheers)—a position which had
proved most unequivocally to the whole country that the
town of Derby had not swerved from the principles
which it always professed, and that it had boldly an-
swered the appeal that had been made to it.—(Renewed
cheers.) Notwithstanding the differences of opinion
that had been manifested on some subjects during this
election, he thought they would all be agreed in this,
that as on the one hand no pains had bum spared to pro-
pagate charges against him, so, on the other hand, he
had not flinched from meeting those chazges.—(Loud
cheers.) He had retracted nothing—(Cheers)—he had
equivocated in nothing—(Cheers renewed)—and there-
fore !.here was no mistake—(Cheers)—there was
not a doubt about this, that the electors had
answered the appeal that had been made to them.—
' (Cheers.) At the commencement of the present con-
test he expressed some regret that on his account the
electors of Derf,v should have to incur the trouble and
inconvenience of 01 election ; but he did now rejoice
that the attempt ha,-1 been made, for the result of tbia
struggle was of the gveatest importance to the cause of
Liberal principles, and the cause of religious liberty,
not only in this borougN, but throughout the whole
country.—(Cheers.) At tho nomination their opponents
told them that the eyes of the country were upon them.
If the eyes of the country were our witnesses in the day
of trial, they were turned upon us in the hour of vic-
tory—(Cheers)—and he was cotoinced that the struggle
that had been made would have its influence in other
places as well as in this town.—(Loud cheers.) Let
him now congratulate them—and if his friends who
had been arrayed in the ranks of his opponents (for
many of whom he felt personal attachment) had
been present on that occasion, he should have
wished also to congratule them upon the re-
spectable manner in which this election had been
conducted. It had been conducted in a manner credit-
able to the town, creditable to their opponents, as well as
to themselves.—(Hear, and cheers.) If Sir Digby
Mackworth had been there he would have said that the
fair and gentlemanlike conduct of his hon. and gallant
opponent accorded with the high personal character he
bore. One of his (Mr. Strutt's) opponents on the day of
election did him the justice to say, although be was
elected by only one part of the electors, yet that, on all
matters connected with their local or general interests,
he gave the same attention to his political opponents as
to his friends. He now begged to say, as he had said on
former occasions, that although he would never flinch
from the due assertion of his political opinions, yet he
never wished to carry them beyond their due sphere, and
on all matters where he could promote their interests he
wished to be considered the representative not of a part,
but of the whole constituency.—(Hear, hear.) Upon that
principle he had acted, and would continue to act. And
now, in taking his farewell, they must permit him again
to return to them his most grateful thanks for the honour
they had done him, and the exertions they had made in
his behalf. He trusted, that although this contest bad
been a strong one—and a strong one it certainly had
been—that it would not leave behind it one spark of
animosity.—(Cheers.) He retired from the contest wits
grateful thanks to those who had supported him, but
without one unkind feeling to any one of his oppo-
nents.—(Much cheering.)
Mr. STRIITT again rose, and said he had now the
pleasing duty to perform of proposing a vote of thanks
to the Mayor for the able, efficient, and impartial man-
ner in which he had conducted the business of the elec-
tion.—(Much applause.)
Mr. JESSOPP bad much pleasure in seconding the
motion.
The MAYOR returned thanks.
Three times three cheers were given for Mr. Strutt,
and the large audience dispersed.
The affability and courtesy of Sir Digby Mackworth
pleased opponents as well as friends. The Honourable
and Gallant Baronet has left the town.

THE PICCADILLY PAvmuns.—Will you kindly ex-
plain (asks a correspondent of the Builder), for the sates- -
faction of the public, why it requires exactly two men
and a boy (literally) to square, on the spot, the many
thousand worn paving-stones which have been, or which
still remain to be taken up ?—or why it would not bo
better to employ some half-a-dozen carts, and a full
complement of men, to take them all away, and bring
back the required paving-stones ready hewn, all which
could be accomplished in a comparatively short time ?
and why, while a sprinkle of workmen are employed at
the lower part of the street, others should not be atwork,
lowering and preparing the ground at the upper ?
The Animal's Friend Society, of 18, Strand, last
week, by means of its officer, Murray, charged William
Dauber, the driver of the cab 8,280, before Mr. Cotting-
ham, at the Southwark Court, with having very cruelly
beaten and kicked a horse (alleging that it was blind
and obstinate), and with having put a nosebag ou it to
prevent its snorting from fear of the blows. Ho was
fined 20s, and costs.

Ar USEFUL M.P.—Last Thursday morning the
passengers on board the William Jolliffe steam-boat, on
her passage from London for Yarmouth, were informed
by the captain and stewardess that they might shortly
expect an addition to fneir number, one of the female
passengers baying been taken with the pains of labour.
The unexpected addition at length took place, a well-
known medical Member of Parliament acting as doctor
and midwife on the occasion. Both are " doing as wen
as can be expected."