The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-24 00:00:00

•
..7. ..,...,
, .
. • • .
.1 .
• , . . ~.
.._._
- .
,
'
',V
'.1.,.:4"4ixf'.,:ekt„.'17 / ,
t
1 •••
•t sr , .
.J.•..al
• .
.J .. al 4.
..r......... - , .
HE ' • T •
- r ' 1 : * • ,
S 4...11 1 1%, ~, . •o'. - 11;
'tt '4''. * ';7l 474/-°", . ~._ - I
~. , z? , f ' - + ..,
ieg., •--- -\ , '"' ." , •:-Pie d 4Q:. I I,r(t". -)- --')
/"..--S-H4,1.0--
f-A ":-. itt - ' . -•- -. -..,--,.. ✓1 44,- 1
C-..44--k,., ' 4 '' ;I; i'..Z : -'< • ~- -7"---- ' -----,,, , ,T. 1
,-i. , . kl. ~,,
04/2 • .i,
4=l, . Aye ti ..• ~. r. . ft. ha AA ~ , ' °:?, ' 1-AP‘%, kliZlsl4 ''.';'. , .
, I ~
,y ,
4t,:......,=`,,:c..i..,5.t. Z.:e7,11,,t4,::t
' '4,'"Ar ;. ' . ',,,Vi n I' .1.7, ‘..-..--',-." '-'i;.,6; -1, .if - --43-74"...' '''
1 7. It
'.' 1 • 1"' It. o'' ".
' T----...-------' '-'
'''. -Pr. ---41‘ 1 - \,/
--...- ........P •
. .
. ,
. --"4--W''''''N '. '',.*. Diy.v.- •• - , ~, '''' P' ~

'AMMON lIIP

702 VAL LAND COMPANY‘
-ST CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY.
cerday a very numerous meeting was held be-.
s Honour the Master in Chancery Hurnphry, in
-Chancellor Turner's Court, Lincoln's-inn, to de-
;erinine, in pursuance of an Act of Parliament, 14 and
15 Viet., passed last session., entitled " An Act to dis-
solve the National Land Company, and to dispose of
the land and property belonging to it," on the appoint-
ment of an official manager to wind up its unfortunate
affairs, in which a vast number of persons, to the ex-
tent of some 60,000, principally weavers, artisans, and
working-classes, are interested, and who, located on
the contemplated arcadias of O'Connorville and Snigs.
end, have been brought, in many instances, into a
state of actual destitution. There were several of
these unfortunate shareholders holding allotments of
land in court, and who had come there under the im-
pression that a " dividend" was to be declared. There
were also on the benches behind counsel steverat of the
disciples of " the six points of the Charter" Preseht.
The meeting was the result of an adjournment from 4th
September, when Mtssrs. Hutton, Goodchgp, Quitter,
Harding, Ernest, Turquand, Croysdill, Grey, Price,
Fellows, Norris, and Ainger, gentlemen of eminence
as accountants, were proposed, and their respective
qualifications for the office canvassed, and at the close
of the proceedings it was discovered that by far the
greater number of the signatures of shareholders, in
number 2,100, representing 7,520 shares, in favour of
Mr. Ainger, the nominee of the directors of the land
company, were not genuine signatures, the majority,.
of them being in one uniform handwriting. Upon
this the Master adjourned the proceedings until res.
terday, in order that the parties implicated m'.ght
make affidavits in explanation of the unacnountetble
occurrence.
The following counsel appeared on behalf of the
several candidates :—Mr. Roxburgh, Mr. James, Air.
Chichester, Mr. Sweet, Mr. lie Gex, Mr. Rogers,
Mr, A. Hill, Mr. Reid, and a large numbest. of go.
licitors.

Mr. Sweet, in explanation of the alleged discre-
pancy, as counsel for Mr. Ainger, read some volumi-
nous affidavits which entered into the matter wit/,s
great circumstantiality. The affidavit of Mr. G. V
Chinery, solicitor, of Robert-street, Adelphi, sgen of
Mr. W. P. Roberts, of Manchester, the solicitor t.o ehe
National Land Company, set forth that all the lists of
proposals for the appointment of Mr. Alfred .Ainger
were received through the post-office from the several
secretaries connected with the local branches cf the Na-
tional Land Company in different parte of th a country,
sent to the late Land Office in London to one of the
late directors. The genuineness of the signatures
was relied upon, nor was it noticed at the time that,
many different names were written in the same hand,
writing. Since last meeting affidavits have beers ob-,
tained from the secretaries of the branches in Lan..
cashire, Cheshire, and other places, explaining her p
the signatures were obtained, and vouching for tbei r
genuineness, but admitting that many of the IlarlDA3 3
Were written " for" the shareholders, but by their au _
thority. The affidavit of Mr. W. P. Robeats, nce Le
read, represented that he was appointed solicitor., to
the whole body of shareholders, and was not, as t ad
been alleged, private solicitor to Mr. O'Connor, 1
.nd
that he is concerned as attorney on behalf of a is rge
number of persons holding shores, who have not k ,een
located on any of the lands of the company, and, ' who
would be entitled to receive a dividend out of the
surplus assets in respect of their shares. That h 8 ad_
vised the application to Parliament, and procure d the
Act of Parliament on behalf of the credit°. es and
shareholders for winding up the company, a
Lid not
for the benefit of Mr. O'Connor or the di' vctors.
Had received no money from Mr. Cr Connor
or the directors for the expenses, but had
spent between 2001. and 3001. for Parl'i smentary
fees, exclusive of his own professional chaef ;es, Be-
lieved that before the Act passed in the . House of
Lords, Mr. O'Connor left England for the ( continent,
and believed that a letter bad been received . from ha
with the post-office mark of " Leghorn." Was cs not
aware that Mr. O'Connor knew that the Act had
passed, or that an order bad been obtainee. by the de-
ponent for winding up the company, a t ;bough the
order had been obtained by deponent n c,minally for
him, the name of Mr. O'Connor being Prominently
mentioned in the Act as the party to obtain such
winding up, nor did Mr. O'Connor, deponent verily
believed, know of the proposal of Mr. Ainger to act as
official manager to the company." The irregularit7
in the signatures had arisen in coneequence of Vele
shareholders being illiterate persona and unable to
write their own names. Deponent was not connected,
with one T. M. Wheeler, formerly secretary to th
company. A number of ;affidavits speaking to the
same points were also read from the secretaries of the
late branches in the provinces, including one from
the " O'Connor brigade branch" at Preston.
Mr. James observed that from the tenor the
proceedings had taken, it would be seen :tare -wile
manifest connexion between Mr. Roberts, Mr. 'aeon-
nor, Mr. Chinery, a-id Mr. Ainger, independent of the
point of the fictitiousness of the signatures.
Mr. Roxburgh complained that, since the last
meeting, a circular, signed by Mr. Roberts, had been
sent "to the shareholders of the Nationn.l Land Com-
pany" calling on them to support Mr. Ainger, nod
recommending, where the parties could not write, to
make the sign of the cross thus—" The mark of
John Noakes."—(Laughter.)
Mr. James contended that the manner in w,hieh
the order to wind up, from the court, had been ob-
tained, was altogether anomalous. The petition was
presented by the solicitor of the company as the pe-
tition of Mr. O'Connor; the same solicitor, in his
affidavit that had been read to the court, asserting he
" was not aware that Mr. O'Connor knew that an.
order to wind up had been obtained." Mr. Roberts
had not only been soliciter, but treasurer to the com-
pany, had been party to all its illegal tfansactions,
and now had a large claim against it. He was also
one of the accounting parties. The deed was signed
by 25,000 persons, for which Mr. Roberts charged
2,5001.

His Honour the MASTER said he was of opinion
that, under the circumstances, a grave question might
arise as to the mode in which the order had been ob•
tained from the Court. There might be ground for
supposing it bad been obtained improperly, and if so,
he should feel it his duty to suspend all further pro-
ceedings until the transaction way reviewed by a su-
perior court. He wished to know how Mr. Roberta
came to present the petition to the Court of Chancery
in Mr. O'Connor's name ?

Mr. Sweet ri.plied that it was necessary toAse Mr.
O'Connor's name in all the transactions of the com-
pany. In all the land affairs Mr. O'Connor was the
recognised agent. Since the last meting 1,900 addi-
tional signatures had been obtained for Mr. Ainger.
It was desirable in winding up the affairs of this un-
fortunate company to obtain as large a dividend as
possible for the shareholders, and he believed that none
of the candidates were better able to effect this than
Mr. Ainger, who in another instance had realised a
profit of 5,0001. for the shareholders.
The MASTER—Does he hold out any such hope
with reference to the estate of the National Land
Company ?—(Laughter.)
Mr. James submitted that should it turn out Mr.
Roberts had presented the petition in the name of
Mr. O'Connor without his authority he ought to be
struck off the rolls. In the additional signatures
for Mr. Ainger many were included in the old Nst.
The MASTER thought it quite possible that Mr.
O'Connor, who had apparently been the prime mover
in the application to the Court, might, on his return,
move the Court to set aside the order, on the ground
that he was no party to it. Any official manager
be, the Master, might appoint would act, so to speak,
as his delegate, and the first tbing he should direct
him to do would be to draw out a full explanatory
report of the state of the company's affaits.
Mr. James; on behalf of Mr. Price, another of the
candidates, denied that that gentleman had any con-
nexion with Mr. O'Connor. The fact was, as op.
peared from the evidence given before the House of
Commons, that Mr. Roberts was not only solicitor,
but treasurer, and bad violated the provisions of the
deed of settlement he himself drew out. Mr. Roberta
was held out to the world as treasurer, though tir.
O'Connor in reality got all the money; and it wall
Mr. Roberts who, through his agent, Mr. Chinery,
was now putting forward Mr. Ainger. The recom-
mendations from Mr. Price were from 2,403 share-
holders, representing 7,956 shares. The fictitious
signatures appeared to have been procured in
" batches," and one of the affidavits stated that " ales
and spirituous liquors" had been dispensed to obtain
them, which the deponents submitted, if not a con-
tempt and contrary to the usages of the High Court
of Chancery, was synonymous with the sin of
" bribery and treating."--(Laughter.)
It was contended at considerable length that Mr.
Price, having been manager of the Land and Labor
Bank, which was in connexion with the National
Land Company, would be ineligible for the aep
oint-
ment from that circumstance. It appeared teal the
progressive stamps to the Land CoWpany's deed,
which was of enormous length, cost 1,0001.
After considerable further discussion, bis Honour
said he should not appoint an official maeager until
he was perfectly satisfied, by the most explicit de-
claratory Effidavits, that the order on the vetiaion to
the Cour. above to wicd up the company-had been,
obtsieed by Mr. Roberts, with the authority of Mr.
O'Colnor. It was possible ho might appoint as in-
terim manager. The whole circumstances connected
with the matter must be fully and unevasively ex-
plained.
The proceedings then, at three o'cicck, v. ere ad-
j ourned to Tuesday next.

Generally speaking, the potatoes are tolerably fre.&
from disease in this district; occasionally, however, we hear
of cases in which the scourge has appeared with all its old
virulence; and at Gillcr, in Herefordshire, we were idorated
that potatoes were dug perfectly sound from OM of
ground in the evening, but that the following morning not
one in ten turned 11P was free iron dikease,—Girantetj.
6414n144