The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-30 00:00:00

TAB SURREY' GARDENS.

Yesterday an extraordinary meeting of the share-
holders of this company was held in the refreshment
room of the Music Hall, for the purpose of receiving the
report of the direct3rs, relative to their proceedings up
to the 10th of October last, and to submit their plan for
future arrangements ; and also the declaration of a
dividend. Mr. Thomas Knox Holmes occupied the
chair.

This meeting created considerable interest, in conse-
quence of the recent calamity at these gardens, and the
propriety of the directors permitting their use for pur-
poses for which they were not intended.
The balustrades have been repaired, but the recom-
mendation of the jury has not been fully complied with,
though the new iron railings arc fast locked in iron an-
chors cemented with lead to the stone work, which pre-
caution was stated on inspection by competent survey-
ors to be sufficient, the entire stability of the building,
from the tests it has received, being free from all doubt.
Tl-• CHAIRMAN said that a few days ago the report of
the directors had been circulated amongst the sharehold-
ers, and he thought that it had given them general satis-
faction. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the accounts,
it had been thought desirable to abstract only so much
as really affected the income of the company. Gentle-
men who were conversant with works of this character
were aware that the expenditure of capital was confined
to the purchase of property, to building, and charges of
that description, and that such capital was represented
by what was commonly called stock. The principal
question to deal with at a meeting with reference to
dividend was the amount received from those sources of
revenue which the company always hoped to maintain,
and for that reason the accounts now presented were not
in the form of a balance sheet, which would be laid be-
fore the proprietor at the annual meeting, but merely
referred to the income of the company. The amount
paid for music, vocalists, salaries, and all the current
expenses connected with the gardens was 10,468/. ss.
3d., and there was due to the company the sum of 9681.
is. 9d. On the other hand, the receipts had amounted
to 12,6381. 18s. sd. for admission to the various perfor-
mances, and the amount received on the sale of cham-
pagne, cigars, and refreshments generally, was 7121. 15s.
Bd., leaving a balance in favour of the company of 1,9161.
is. 4d. He trusted that the simple statement would
be most gratifying. (Hear.) It was impossible to
look an account of that sort. There was no abstract
question of premises, or buildings, or additions there-
to. It was a simple account of the moneys received
at the gates and the galleries, and the number of
admissions would appear in the h,elance-sheet at the end
of the year. It should be recollected that the whole of
the amount received had been taken during a period of
the year when London, to a certain extent, had emp-
tied itself, and that class of society from whom the direc-
tors always anticipated great support, and who, as far
as they had remained in town, had accorded that sup
port. The amount received from that class had far ex-
ceeded his anticipations. (Hear.) He would now
make a few remarks with reference to the course which
the directors had pursued during the ten weeks which
the gardens had been opened. The directors thought it
advisable in an establishment of this nature—possessing
the finest music hall in Europe, not only in form and
convenience, but for the conveyance of sound---to open
the gardens with a festival which in magnitude had never
been excelled and seldom equalled in this country. They
did not consider whether they should derive a benefit
from that festival ; they had two objects in view. The
one was to bring from the musical cities of the world par-
ties who would be able to speak of the success of the
undertaking in their own country ; the other was to in-
duce the great singers who had hithertho held them-
selves too lofty to sing to the million to come forward and
take part in the selections of M. Jullien. (Hear, hear.)
He had been informed, and he believed quite correctly,
that previously to the erection of this hall Madame
Alboni had never sung at a concert where the
price of admission was less than a guinea.
The experiment had established the fact, that
the greatest professional singers did not object
to sing to those who were willing to pay for hearing
them. (Hear.) He did not wish to hold out the pro-
spect of an enormous dividend, but the dividend which

they were about to declare that day would be paid out
of the bona fide receipts of ten weeks, after paying all
the enormous expenses of the festival week. (Hear.) It
was unnecessary for him to descant on the pleasures of
music or the benefits which society would derive from in-
.

stitutions of this nature, for there were many gentlemen
present who were more able to do so than himself. He
would simply confine his observations to the finances of
the company, and the unfortunate calamity which had
occurred last Sunday week. On hearing of the accident
he immediately came down to the building, and on the
next day, with the very able assistance of Mr. Jones,
ascertained the superficial contents of the galleries, of
the body of the hall, and of the different exits. He had
also felt it his duty to attend the inquest from its com•
mencement to its close, and felt bound to state that
the more he looked into the provisions against such an
accident, the more was he convinced of the super-
excellence of the building. (Hear.) He had obtained
measurements of most of the principal theatres and
other places of public entertainment in London. It
would be unjust towards those who had afforded him
facilities for acquiring this information to specify
it in detail. He would treat them as a whole, and
felt bound to say that this building, in proportion to
the number of persons it would contain, could deliver
them in one-tenth of the time that would be occupied
in any other building. (Hear, hear.) This was a
very simple proposition. There were exits from the body
of the hall on the ground floor to the extent of 145 feet.
Now, assuming that the hall was completely filled, and
that the persons divided themselves so as to flow out
equally at each exit, the building could be emptied in 40
seconds. There was no comparison between the facilities
of egress afforded by this hall and Exeter Hall ; and he
mentioned the latter because it had been occupied by Mr.
Spurgeon for a similar purpose. He believed the danger
arising from a panic would be as great if the whole of
one Fide of the building could be thrown open as in a
more confined space, and that was distinctly proved by
the evidence before the jury'; for the whole of the per-
sons who met their death were within six feet of the
door of the gallery at the time. They fell on the first
flight of stairs, and so falling were crushed. It was dis-
tinctly proved that no death had been caused by the
giving way of the balustrades. On the contrary, their
giving way eased the pressure, as was proved by one of
the witnesses who was on the floor at the time. It did
not require either an immense number of persons or a
narrow apace to cause death in the event of a panic ; for,
in this case, the very persons who were not crowded
together were those who lost their lives, and his belief
was that, if a sadden panic seized a crowdatthe topanodf
the steps leading to the Duke of York's Column,
they hastened down those steps with greatc rapid:v. los,
of life would be the result. (Hear, hear.) Comparatively
raaa shorttivel?'
speaking the number of lives losteh
was
scusrmreall fur
at a Jewish
time previously,
synagogue in Wairnsaawp,annoitse
panic which
46
lives were lost in a
congregation of 1,500. (Hear.) The jury, in delivering
their verdict at the inquest appended a recommendation
that an alteration should be made in the staircase. His
opinion was that no alteration and that no human fore-
sight could prevent an accident from unforeseen causes.
At the same time it was due to the jury, who bad inves-
tigated the case with the greatest circumspection, with
an entire absence of hostility to any one, and without
reference to the preaching of Mr. Spurgeon, to say that
the directors felt bound to attend to that recommenda.
tion as far as it was in their power to do so. (Hear.)
Independently of that, it was not only the desire of the
directors to meet the views of the public, but it was their
duty to do so, for in catering for the public amusement
they were bound to consider the public safety. (Hear.)
Entertaining these opinions, the directors had requested
Mr. Jones to make a survey of the four to werA, and make
a report in reference to any alterations which he might
think it desirable to suggest. A sketch has been pre-
pared by Mr. Jones and estimates were in preparation,
and he trusted that it would be satisfactory to the share-
holders to know that the expense of altering the staircases
would be most trifling—about 701. each. The proposed
alteration would get rid Of the narrowness of the small
end of the step, and the object of Mr. Jones would be,
not only wider in themselves, but co-equal in their width
from one end to the other—in other words, there would
be a succession of square steps. (Hear.) As he had already
said, this could be done at a small expense, and it was
the universal wish of the directors to carry out the im-
provement. (Hear.) Nothing could exceed the stability
of the building, the manner in which it had been
executed, and the accommodation which it afforded to
the public. It had been most minutely inspected by
Mr. Mullins, the district surveyor, and Mr.*Tyler, who
felt the importance of having a report from an impartial
person not connected with the building, having addressed
a letter to that gentleman on the subject, had received
the following reply :

" Brixton, Oct. 28, 1856.
"Dear Sir,—Absence from home has prevented me
from replying to yours of the 25th earlier, but I have
much pleasure in bearing my testimony to the stability
of the Music hall at the Surrey-gardens when I inspected
it in my
official capacity of district surveyor after the
late melancholy accident. The building must have been
severely tested without showing the slightest sign of
failure in any part, if I except a few balustrades being
displaced in the lower part
.of one of the staircases.—
I am, sir, yours truly, "JOHN MULLINS.
" W. Tyler, Esq., Manager."
He (the chairman) trusted that the shareholders and the
public would continue to believe that it was the inten-
tion of the directors to carry out their professions.
Within 16 weeks from their becoming possessors of the
soil the building rose to its present grandeur, and not-
withstanding the hurry and difficulties which frequently
arose after contracts were signed, he was happy to say
the directors never had a difference of opinion with the
architect or the builder. (Hear, hear.) He concluded
by moving a resolution to the effect that the report be
received and adopted, and that a dividend of 5 per cent.
for the half-year ending January 1, 1857, being at the
rate of 10 per cont. per annum, be paid to the
shareholders upon the shares now issued and fully
paid up previous to the Ist January next, and that all
future dividends be payable on the let July and the Ist
January in each year. (Hear, hear.)
The motion having been seconded,
Pr. LEVET'. inquired if the 5 per cent, was 'clear of the
income tax'

The CHAIRMAN replied in the negative.
A PROPRIETOR inquired the amount of shares paid up.
The CHAIRMAN replied that in round numbers the
amount paid up was 82,000/.
The resolution was then put and agreed to.
Mr. CorrocK, on the part of the directors, wished
briefly to state their intention as to the future. They
intended to make the building in its arrangements and
details much more complete than it was at present, and
to give increased conveniences to the public visiting the
gardens. They intended to improve the means of access
to the building, and to carry out those alterations to

which the chairman bad alluded as having been rendered
desirable in consequence of the late accident. (Hear,
hear.) They trusted that during the winter the ball
would not remain unproductive, but that it would be
turned to profitable account. That was one of the rea-
sons fOr accepting the offer of Mr. Spurgeon, who was
to ;pay 151. for the use of the hall on each Sunday,
vhich was at a rate equal to a profit of about 2i per
cent. It was intended to let the hall throughout the
week for pure and legitimate purposes. A plan was
before the directors for the formation of a choral
society, and arrangements were in progress fir the
introduction of amusements into different parts oti the
:ardens, which would attract visitors without the neces-
sity of their remaining so long. It was their intention
to carry out the scheme honestly and fairly. There had
been no cooking of the accounts and there would be none.
(Hear.) Although the labours of the directors had been
great, they had been repaid for their trouble in witness-
ing the success of the undertaking. There had never
been a more honest undertaking brought before the pub-
lic, and the directors had never attempted by any kind
of jobbing to press it forward by any unfair means.
Nearly the whole of the shares had been disposed of, and
be was convinced that they would soon be at a consider-
able premium. (Hear.) The undertaking would not only
produce a large revenue to the shareholders, but it would
afford the means of the most wholesome amusement to
the public at large. (Hear.) He could not sit down
without acknowledging the obligations of the directors to
the magistrates and the police of the district, and parti-
cularly to Superintendent Lund—(hear)—who, whenever
his other duties permitted, was continually on and about
the premises, seeing that his men were properly planed,
and giving them such directions as enabled them to per'
form their duties in a most satisfactory manner. (Hear-)
The public had every confidence in the undertaking•
and he believed that on future occasions not only would
a dividend equal to the present be declared, but that
than the directors would be able to present a bonus,
which in the course of a very few years would reps,'
all the principal. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. FLEMING wished to know in what position the
directors stood with regard to Mr. Spurgeon, and wile:
ther he would be permitted to preach in the hall again
Mr. COPPOCK replied that a contract had been entered.
into for letting the hall, but they bad heard nothing
since the accident. If the shareholders wished to es-
press any opinion on the subject, they were at liberty
to do so, but he thought it would be better to suspend
any inquiry as to the state of the contract to which be
had alluded. (Hear, hear.) It would be mach better
to leave the matter in the hands of the directors.
Mr. FLEMING complained that the original intention
had been departed from, by letting the gardens to a
popular preacher.
Mr. WYLD, the late M.P. for Bodmin, defended the
conduct of the directors.
Mr. OAKES, formerly mayor, and still one of the ma-
gistrates of Gravesend, approved of all the directors ban
done, and cordially supported the resolution.
M. JULLIEN said no place of amusement for purely
vocal and musical performances, with which he had been
connected throughout Europe, was superior to the Sorrel
Music Hall.

After some discussion,
Mr. WESTON, the auditor, said the accounts had heels
most accurately kept.
Mr. COPPOCK said he was bound to say that the ewer•
tions of Mr. Superintendent Lund and the police, °a
the occasion of the late calamity, deserved their highest
approbation.
vote of thanks was passed to the chairman, and the
meeting separated.