The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-12 00:00:00

THE SDI% LONDON; SATURDAY 14.111-ENING, APRIL 12,' 1856.

LINES f,t,. S'e.l) ief.XEn g

THE MILITARY BOARD OF INQUIRY,
(This Day.)

GENERAL SCREW STEJ3I-SHIPPI,Va
COIIPANT.

MAM*AIe;

1... ,ttSin
Co Mpan

C to4tl)
ye:feria .

oflford and
331otlhloy
ItuAghanish.
Clydeslal r 3c.
Col. Stour Vy.
Sod, and Hal.
cr. De.
E. Un. 11. Sh.
(419.5. Larr.
Direct
Do. New..
D n. Fr
flrtipl.
Railway „
Hull & Selby
Do. Sharon.
Do. Shares.
Lon.&Greenw
Do. PreferenN,,
Lon., Til., & S.
Lowestoft gr.
4 per cent.
Do. 6 per ct.
Manch. Bata
and 'Matlock
Middlesbro'
REA car

London &
r.C. We'
L. &N. W.
E. Un. &
Gt. Nrti,D.
E. Count.
o:adonis!).

Theßoard of general officers resutned their sittings this
morning at the usual hour, at the Royal Hospital,
Chelsea.

, An extraordinary general meeting of the above cow.
pang was held 3 esterday, at the London Tavern, Raikes
Carrie, DI., in the chair, fur the purpose of confirming,
otherwLe, certain bye-lows passed at the general
=netting held on the 20i1 of February last ; also to re-
ceive a report from the directors of their having sold-
eight of the company's ships ; to take instructions as to
the course to be adopted as to the future of the company;
ind upon the late negotiations with the Board of Trade
`or a supplemental charter. The following were the
bye-laws : •
"First—That the 6th clause of the second supplemental
deed be revoked, and that in future all cheques upon the
hankers of the company may be signed by two directors.
" Second—That the 66th clause of the original deed of
settlement be altered by omitting the following words,
viz.:—`And on eich such balancing, reference shall be had
to the then value of the funded and all other property of I
the company, which shall be estimated, not at the cost,
but at or about, and in no case exceeding, the market
value thereof.' -

95 - 97
94 - 1,8

The examination of Col. Lowe by Col. Tulloch was
continued.—He considered it perfectly possible, seeing
that shelter would be required for the horses, that can-
vass, ar,c., might have been obtained a month earlier
than the period when the huts were erected,
and would have been a wise precaution. When
his men had tools and mat ria,ls they showed
much ingenuity in providing shelter for the horAes. The
number of available men for the work during December
varied from Ito 20. In the beginning of December it
had not been decided where the camp ehould be situated,
but ha was unable to say when it was decided on. The
horses were shifted every opportunity the ground admit-
ted of. The want of men and the transport of material re-
tarded the progress of the work more than the want of tools.
He was unable to say that carpenters might have been
obtained from the shipping at Balaklava to supply the
want of men to erect the stabling. His stabling was
completed about the end of Feb. or the beginning of
March. He was unable to say now how many horses
he had alive in November, but when his stables were
completed he had but 39 horses alive. He gave a re-
turn in the Crimea, and he should think the nomber
alive in November was from 130 to 150 ; his was the
last stabling completed from want of wood.

11 - 13

ii -... i

(It. Weetr
New.
& Derv.
Y. &NM
1)0
Do

104 - 116

S. Easton
Do

12~ - i. ~

11.6

(oto & Co

NorfOlk
Do. .....
EA.& N. W
&
itekton &
Oarlingt.
Aidlan4..l

" Third-11M the future qnalification for each director
-of this company shall be, his being a bolder of 100 shares
in the company, notwithstanding any change that may
take place in the amount in figures for the time being of
each share of the company."
These were confirmed after some observations.
The CHAIRMAN, in opeuing the business of the day,
at some length entered upon a matter which he said
might appear at first sight as merely personal to himself,
but it was not so. Having alluded-to the circumstances
under which he reluctantly took the chair of the board,
he stated that he had received a letter the other day
from a gentleman, whose name he need not give, be-
cause he had made him (Mr. Currie) a very ample apo-
logy for the imputation which he had cast upon him.
The writer reminded Mr. Currie that a short time be-
f ire the last meeting he bad transferred into his name
100 shares of the company—that he had bought
them in consequence of the report of the company
having disposed of eight vessels for 500,0001. ; but
that when he found Mr. Currie had reduced his in-
terest he naturally felt some anxiety, and he felt more
strongly when Mr. Carrie did not impart to the meet-
ing anything as to the sale. The writer wished to know
whether Mr. Currie had parted with any of his shares.
To this Mr. Currie replied that he aas much tempted to
conline his reply to a peremptory and indignant denial,
but he added that he had never bought or sold a single
share in the General Screw Steam-Snipping Corapany ;
that he originally paid 5,0061. for 220 shares, which he
now held. He ha-1 never held any less or more, neither
had any relation or connexion of his, under any advice
or opinion given by Mira The case was this, that a
large debt being due from a Mr. —, who held
shares in connection: with another party, these shares
were transferred as a partial security to him as chair-
man of tha company, and Mr. noggins, the -broker,
add these shares were gradually realised towards the
liquidation of the debt, these sales being made without
any interference or cognisance on his (Mr. Carrie's)
part; yet that it was on the transfer of these shares
into joint names, too, that the writer accused
him, as chairman, of such gross misconduct. He
therefore desired the writer to make him an im-
mediate and ample apology. In the gentleman's re-
ply, which conveyed the most "feeling and handsome
-apology," be glanced at the conventional morality of
boards of directors and chairmen. Mr. Currie then al-
luded to the lax tone in these matters which too fre-
quently pervaded commercial men of the present (lay ;
and here he was reminded of whaa his friend Sydney
Smith bad so well said—" Oh, drab coloured men of
Pennsylvauia, it is not for gie-sling and sherry-cobbler
alone that man is to live ; but fur those great principles
against which no argument is to be listened to—prose:
pies above cash, superior to cotton, higher than cur-
rency; principles without which it is better to die than
to live, and which every servant of God, over every sea
and in all lands, should cherish r usque ad abdita spira-
menta aniince.'" With reference to the negotiations
with the Board of Trade on the subject of a supplemental
charter, it would be remembered that the board had made
a return of 3/. and 21. per share. The Board of Trade,
who had treated them with great fairness, objected to
the return of 31. per share, and through their auditors
declared the reduction in the one case should have been
21, 'Pais did not injure the position of the company.
The money returned would, therefore, be 41., leaving the
shares at 161., and they would have to wait only till the
completion of the charter when the money would be
returned. In the meantime the money was yielding
them 51 per cent. He had now to report the sale of
eight of their ships for 500,0001., and that a deposit of
25,0001. had been paid in cash, and was lodged at inte-
rest to the present moment.
the articles of the agreement between the contracting
-parties having been read, a resolution was passed, ap-
proving of the sale and confirming the same.
In reference to the course to be adopted as to the
future Of the company, after a long discussion a resolu-
tion was carried to the following effect :—" That the
course to be adopted with reference to the future of this
company, be left entirely in the hands of the directors,
with fall powers to take such steps as, in their discre-
tion, May seem best calculated to promote the interests
of the proprietors."
A vote of thanks having been passed to the chairman,
the meeting then separated.

2i --

Miald.Bralfd
Newmarket
Bury E. G.spc
N.& Est.s p.e.
Do. 6 per et,
Do. Fixeds p c
Preet. y,
Do. 4 Shri. A
Boystn.& Hit.
Shef. Roth an,;:
Gooleg.sp.c
Shrews. Mier
S. Stagordsh.
Wear Valleygi
6 per cent
Do

92 - 94
- 4Ti
56 - I' 8

En. Conn.
15. Count
Do

& N.W
Oo
1t Northn
Laneath
Yorksh.
r. Brassey
14.11 Clean
itockt. &
Dunne

i 4.-13

Colonel Tulloch then proceeded to put to the witness
a question similar to that which had been put to the pre-
vious witnesses he had called in reference to the para-
graph in the report relative to the want of promptitude
or ingenuity in providing shelter for the horses, the same
as that adopted by the Sappers and Miners at Bala-
klava.

7f - it
31 - 201

3L - 321
... - A

WittihM•nrst

ItWestn

Lord Lucan objected to the question. It was not
only a leading question, but it was particularly calling
half a-dozen selected witnesses to over-ride the Court in
giving their opinion on the whole matter.
Ultimately the question was put.
Col. L:,we said, in reply, that he had never seen the
horses of the Sappers and Miners at BAlaklava, and he.
declined expressing any opinion on it, not having con-
sidered it in relation to the paragraph quoted.
C.•l. Tulloch put the question to the witness again, on
which

Lord Lucan objected, saying the witness had answered
it twice.

The witness retired, Lord Lucan having declined to
cross-examine him then.

By the Judge-Advocate-General—Did Lord Lucin
frequently visit your camp ?
Col. Lowe—Yes.

Judge-Advocate-General—What passed on those 00.
casions ?

Col. Lowe—He made inquiries relative to the state of
the officers, men, and horses, and he examined the work
that had been done.

The witness then retired.

General l3eatson, Commander of the Bashi-Bazouks,
was next called and examined by Col. Tulloch. He said
that he landed in the Crimea about the let October, with
General Scarlett's heavy brigade, and remained there
till the end of November. The horses from the time
they landed to the time he left the Crimea were in a
very bad state. He did not think it was practicable
to place the horses under temporary shelter on the
plateau near Lord Raglan's quarters, from the uncer
tainty there was of their remaining there. Lord
Lucan and General Scarlett wished to remove the
cavalry to a better spot about three hundred yards
in the rear, but it was not done. It was owing to
that uncertainty that the reason why the horses were
not earlier got under shelter was attributable. The best
description of shelter must depend on the nature of the
materials at hand. Digging trenches and throwing up
earth around the horses, he was unable to say whether
such were practicable in the Crimea. He saw noae
whilst he was there. It was the practice of the
Bashi Bazouke, when in a country where there was
wood, to construct temporary shelter with the branches
of trees, but, of course, could not construct any where
there were no trees. It was not desirable to expose
English horses for so long a time, and in such weather
as that referred to. He had heard the description of
the state of the horses from wet, mud, and
frost, and he thought the same objection was
applicable to the cavalry not digging trenches,
from the uncertainty of their remaining where
they were, and the laborious nature of the work re-
quiring a good supply of tools. He certainly would not
have placed his own horses under canvass on the pla-
teau, because the first gale of wind might have blown the
canvass off, and the horses have been injured thereby
more than if they had stood in the open air.
By Lord Lucan—He left the camp shoEfilv_after the
storm of the 14th November. No officer to,his know-
ledge placed his own horses under canvass on the plateau;
it would not have been judicious to have hutted the
horses on the plateau.

Lord Lucan—On the part of the heavy brigade
with which you most lived in the Crimea, was there any
want of protoptitude shown in providing shelter for the
horses ?

Gen. Beatson—l think every officer was anxious to
take all possible care of the horses. _ _

Lord Lucan—To what do you attribute the bad con-
dition of the horses on landing in the Crimea

General Bea.tson—l attribute it to the want of proper
arrangement being made for the foraging of the cavalry
before they left Varna.
Colonel Griffiths was recalled—On the 3d December,
when at Kadikoi, his horses were, generally speaking,
in pretty good order. There were some very weak.
The horses stood at their picquets till about the
31 of Jan. before any of them were under cover. No
orders were given to shelter them till the 16th Dec., and
the delay that occurred after that was from want of men
and tools. The number of available men employed in
providing sheher depended on the amount of commis-
sariat duty required of them. On an average they
were from 70 to 75 men. He thought sail cloth
covering and spare, if both had been there,
could have been put up for shelter in four days.
In December he lost 23 horses, and in January 51 horses,
and at the end of January he bad only about one-third
of the horses that left England alive. He suggested to
General Scarlett that application should be made for
carpenters on board the fleet in Balaklava harbour.
All he could say was, that he didn't get them.
He thought that, under the circumstances, the cavalry
did their best in providing temporary shelter for their
horses ; but should they be called on for another cam-
paign, no doubt they would improve on their past expe-
rience. When he was at Balaklava be saw a canvas-
covered stable, but he took no notice of it. Ile never
went into it, nor made any inquiries about it, and it was
only when he saw the Commissioners' report that he was
aware the stables belonged to the Sappers and Miners.
The Sappers and Miners situated at Balaklava had
greater facilities (and the men were much less wOrked
than the cava'ry) for erecting temporary shelter than
the cavalry bad at Kadikoi.
Maio. Thompson was recalled and examined by the
Judge-Advocate-General relative to his former statement
of digging a drain for his horses, and he was asked to
explain how it was the mortality amongst his horses
after that was greater than in ether regiments. The
witness said he ceuld only account fer it from the sth
Dragoons having a larger number of horses and fewer
men to look after them than any other regiment in the
Crimea. Having explained some other points,
Mr. Robert Rawlingson, civil engineer, and one of
tine Crimean sanitary commissioners, was under exa.
mination when our despatch left.
[We will give the conclusion in cur last Edition.]

MELANCHOLY SUICIDE OF A GIRL AGED ONLY-FOUR
TEEN.—Yesterday afternoon Mr. William Carter, coroner
for East Surrey, held an inquest in the board room of
Newington Workhouse, Walworth-common, on the body
of Martha Leach, aged 14, who was found drowned on
Wednesday last. The jury returned a verdict of tem-
porary insanity.
A meeting of ;the committee of the governors of the
Wellington College was held yesterday morning at the
new Palace of Westminster, to make arrangements fur
the ceremony of laying the first stone of the college by
the Queen on the 33 of May. Present—the Earl of
Derby (chairman), the Right Hon. Spencer Walpole,
the Rev. G. R. Gleig, and Mr. Corr.
MINING INTELLIGENCE.—The Mining Share Market
continues in a dull and depressed-state, with but little
business doing, and with a preponderance of sellers.
Many dividend mines show a downward tendency.
Bassets, notwithstanding the important discovery of the
new north lode, have receded from 410 to 370 ; Buller,
560 to 570 ; South Frances, 335 to 340.—Al
ini
ng Jour-
nal of this clay.
FIRES.—On Thursday morning a fire broke out on the
premises of Mr. W. H. Biackinore, cotton and waste
manufacturer, Harris's-yard, near Whitechapel Church.
There. was a good supply of water from the mains of the
East London Company, but the flames could not be
subdued until the warehouse was burnt out and the roof
destroyed. The engine-house was also much injured,
with the kilns and stabling a'ljacent.' The buildings
were insured in the Sun office, but the contents were
not insured. A fire also occurred on the premises of
Mr. John Wilson, oil, colour, and Italian warehouseman,
43, Strutton-ground, Westminster. The front and back
shops, the fixtures, and the back rooms on the first and
second floors, were seriously burned, and the rest of the
premises and their contents much damaged by water and
smoke. The loss is covered by insurances in the Royal
Exchange and Westminster offices.