The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-24 00:00:00

INDIAN CARRYING (LIMITED.)

The annual general meeting of this company was
held yesterday, at the office, South-street, Fins-
bury-square ; Sir Macdonald Stephenson in the
chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in
The Sun, was taken as read.

The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, said that in common with almost every in-
dustrial enterprise, the Indian Carrying Company
had suffered to the extent of a limitation of the
dividend for the year ending the 30th of June last
to 3 per cent., or only half what had been paid
uninterruptedly from the commencement. The
losses in Bombay, which were so fully explained at
the last meeting, had occasioned this reduction in
the year's dividend ; but the closing of the Bombay
agency, which had now been effected since Septem-
ber last, would remove any apprehension of further
losses, and enable the company to realise the fruits
of their more successful exertions in the other Pre-
sidencies. The block in the traffic which occurred
on the East Indian Railway should be attributed to
the imperfect utilisation of the rolling stock in
hand, and not to the insufficiency of stock sent out,
as explained by the chairman of the East Indian
Railway at their late meeting. It was to be hoped
that, in the interests of both companies, the future
co-operation would be more active and earnest than
heretofore. They had a common object, and should
pursue a policy of co-operation. The short credits
which were now made imperative in India involved
the necessity for having a large floating capital in the
hands of the managers, and at a future and more
opportune period it would be desirable to act upon
the authority the board had received some time since
to make a small addition to the capital for the pur-
pose, offering it, of course, rateably to the share-
holders. With the close of the sadly memorable year
which had just passed away it was hoped that the
wide-spread suffering and heavy losses among com-
mercial undertakings would also have terminated,
and give place to a sounder state of trade, with a
renewal of confidence in those enterprises which had
proved they were entitled to it. The Indian Carry-
ing Company had much to con tend with. It bad
paid regular dividends of 6 per cent. from the com-
mencement, and though only dividing 3 per cent.
for the last year, might confidently look forward to
future years of increased prosperity with the expe-
rience already obtained.

Mr. J. WALKER seconded the motion for the
adoption of the report.
A SIIAREIIOLDER thought the ordinary meetings
of the company should in future be held earlier.

The CHAIRMAN said the difficulty was to get the
accounts earlier from the agencies all over India, but
it was a point with the directors to accomplish.
Mr. PHILPOTT suggested a small call to provide
additional floating capital, but said he should object
to raising more than the £lOO,OOO capital unless the
usual risks in carrying on business iu India could
be overcome.
The report was unanimously adopted ; Mr. P. D.
Hadow and Mr. J. Walker, the retiring directors,
were rc-elected ; and also Mr. J. E. Coleman and
Mr. G. Engstrom, the. retiring auditors, the remu-
neration being fixed at 15 guineas and 10 guineas
respectively for the ensuing year.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and directors.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS

TratEs.—The decision yesterday pronounced in
the Court of Queen's Bench, in the case of " Bryant
v. Foot," may be attended, as Justice Blackburn
remarked, with some very startling results. It was
an action by the rector of a parish in Buckingham-
shire to recover a marriage fee of 13s. The ground
upon which he claimed was, of course, that of pre-
scriptive right. It was proved that a similar fee had
been paid in the perish since 1808 ; but as to the
custom before that time no direct evidence was ad-
duced on either side. It was further allowed by
both sides that the existence of a custom for fifty
years afforded in law a prima facie presumption of
its having existed from time immemorial—a pre-
sumption, however, which might be rebutted by
sufficient evidence to the contrary. The plaintiff
argued that, as there was no direct evidence to the
contrary, the presumption must stand, and that the
prescriptive right WWS established. It was argued
on the other side that the amount of the fee was too
great to have been either asked or paid in former
times—in legal language it was " rank;" and thus
the custom could not have existed from time
immemorial. The Court held, by a majority of
three to one, that the objection was fatal, and
that the fee could not be legally claimed. The result
is not only to deprive the rector of Horton of any
legal right to the portion of his income which
he may derive from marriage fees, but to place a
great number of other persons in the same uncom-
fortable position. Except in cases where there
may be a special enactment, all clergymen would
seem to be deprived of any legal right to the cus-
tomary marriage fees. The same rule will apply, it
may be presumed, to almost all other church fees ;
nor will clergymen be the only victims. This case
was immediately followed by another in which a
claim was alleged to the customary toll or due of a
shilling for every cartioad of vegetables brought
into Cheltenham market. The evidence was of the
same character, and the case was, of course, simi-
larly decided. Carts will be able to enter Chel-
tenham market for the future without paying a
shilling, and we hope the inhabitants of Chelten-
ham will get their vegetables cheaper. Here,
too, the same rule will apply to many similar cases,
and numberless customary tolls are deprived of any
legal right. Mr. Justice Blackburn seems to doubt
whether the Corporation of the City of London will
he able to maintain its duties upon corn, coal, and

oysters. Until recently many payments in Courts
of Justice depended solely on the presumption that
they were ancient fees, and some such payments
probably exist still. It follows that they had no
legal sanction ; and if any such still exist, they are
now deprived of legal authority. These are cer-
tainly, as Mr. Justice Blackburn described them,
startling results, and it is difficult to see how far

they may extend. Still more strange are the legal
principles from which these consequences have fol-
lowed, and which are now established by the autho-
rity of the Court of Queen's Bench. Our readers
are aware that the term " legal memory" extends to
the reign of Richard I. Now, for a custom to exist
by prescriptive right it must be theoretically proved
that it has existed since the time of legal memory ;
in other words, it must be proved to have existed in
the reign of Richard I. That, at this present day,
in the year 1867, is the law of England. There is
no country which is more dependent upon prescrip-
tion, or more overriden by custom ; but it is, not-
withstanding, the law that, with certain special ex-
ceptions, no prescription whatever is legally valid
unless it dates from the reign of Richard I. Of
course, in the more important circumstances, so