The Sun.
London, England, 1867-02-18 00:00:00

E SUN, LO :a ON, MON li.l Y EVENING, FEBRUARY 18, 1867.

we hold, as we have ever held, to be the ballot ;
and this neither Whigs nor Tories will
readily concede, because the objection lies not
so much with the respective Ministries as with the
representatives themselves. As for the minor points
of a difference of a pound in the franchise, the exact
qualification necessary for a lodger, the precise
definitions of the boundaries of boroughs, these are
all matters that can best be settled after discussion
and deliberation, not laid down as axioms of funda-
mental policy from which neither side must swerve
a hairbreadth.

It is a great occasion, and it remains to be seen
whether the House of Commons will rise to
it by laying aside personal and party feel-
ing,: and earnestly considering the best inte-
rests of the country. The peculiar position of
affairs takes away the strong temptation which
might exist on the part of the Liberals to allow
their adversaries the credit of carrying a successful
measure. As Mr. DISRAELI said the other night
the course they have adopted is not flattering to
themselves. If the House of Commons accept and
amend the resolutions it will be a joint affair—
the work of both sides—of the party of progress
and the party of tradition, and this it ought to be,
and it must be if the new House of Commons
would faithfully and adequately reflect the mixed
elements of the English Constitution and people.

The Conservative demonstration at Portsmouth,
which took place last Wednesday, went off very
satisfactorily. The members of the Working
Men's Liberal-Conservative Association met at the
King's-rooms. Sir JAMES ELPHINSTONE'S speech
was deservedly applauded. He declared that the
spectacle he there witnessed was one he never ex-
pected to have seen in Portsmouth, and that he
should never forget the character of such an as-
sembly. The hon. baronet alluded to the great
change that had taken place in public opinion
during the last ten years, when it seemed impos-
sible to convince some that a Conser-
vative member could be other than a cum-
borer of the ground. He referred to the
manner in which the election had been conducted,
and showed how an unfair advantage had been
taken of his position while he was in London, hav-
ing been selected to sit upon Committees of great
importance ; and meanwhile his opponents went
down to Portsmouth and conducted their canvassing.
Hence the House of Commons lost the only man
that Lord CLARENCE PAGET feared. When the
navy estimates came on the borough of Portsmouth
was ably represented, and many beyond the circle
of his immediate friends regretted the exclusion of
Sir J. ELPIIINSTONE. Nothing is more wanted
than members of Parliament who can exercise a
direct influence on those who administer the naval
affairs of the nation, and although we are now so
fortunate as not to need so much supervision in that
particular, still the services of so able a man as the
hon. baronet are always desirable and well calcu-
lated to influence the state of things.
Turning to matters which more nearly affected
his hearers, *Sir J. ELPHINSTONE adverted to the pro-
posed motion of Mr. SEELEY, which stood for the
nineteenth of this month. In this he censured
very strongly the manner in which the dockyards
were managed, and the object which Mr. SEELEY
and his friends had in view, which was to transfer
the business of the dockyards to private yards, and
private speculators. Now this would be a most
objectionable thing to do in the dockyards, and, as
they are emphatically styled here, " the safeguards
of our naval supremacy," any alteration such as
this would be very injurious to the interests cf the
country. Portsmouth has, indeed, had reason to
lament the loss it sustained in the change of its
members, and for some time past that town has
been flourishing at its own expense—Portsmouth,
in fact, having been regarded by the late Board of
Admiralty very much as a mere repairing
port. Lord CLARENCE PAGET had pointedly
alluded to the changes that were taking
place in Portsmouth, and had even contemplated
further ones. In a speech he made last year he
referred to an item in the works at Portsmouth,
and said that, although there were two great
armour plated ships building in that dockyard,
yet if any serious disaster happened to the armour
plated fleet there was not the means for exten-
sive repairs at Portsmouth. The noble lord fur-
ther proposed that the ropeworks in Portsmouth
Dockyard, which have been carried on there from
time immemorial, should be abolished, and trans-
ferred to Chatham and Devonport. These things
certainly show that the borough requires an able
and efficient representative in the House, and it
is of great moment to its future status that all these
sweeping changes and sudden alterations should not
be carried out, while no one in the House is ready
or adroit enough to explain the matter, or to advo-
cate the claims of the borough.
We entirely concur with the hon. baronet in his
views on the matter, and it is for the true interests

of Parliament that the electors should have one
seat kept for those who understand naval matters,
and can press their opinions in the House of Com-
mons. This is a very essential particular, and it is also
wise counsel which Sir J. ELrunisToNE added, to the
effect that they should try for one seat, and leave
the others to whom they liked. The hon. baronet
entered into an interesting inquiry of the manner in
which the navy had been conducted of late, and
declared that the navy was not now in a state of
greater transition than it had been for the last 50

years. As to the result of the very large expendi-
ture that has taken place during the last seven

years, he certainly showed .that the late Adminis-
tration had not much to plume itself on in this parti-
cular. "We have no two ships that can sail together,
if we wore to take thirty'ships out of a bag and tell
them to make the best of their way to Lisbon to-
morrow ; some would be south of Ushant by sun-

set, and some would not be round the Bill of Port•

land." Further on he declared that the present

constructive branch of the Admiralty had not con

structed one ship according to specifications, and
he naturally appealed to the common sense of his
auditory as to whether that " branch" ought any
longer to be entrusted with the reconstruction of
the navy of this country. When we look at the

way in which France and other nations

are progressing, We come to the conclu-

sion that England should not be behindhand
in the struggle, but that ber navy should be in-

getic counsels of one so interested and well in.
formed as this speaker. He said that he did not
know he could have said so much on the matter,
but that he felt, since he came to Portsmouth
and got a sniff of the sea air, that
there was " more life in the old dog yet."

Referring to the Working Men's Conservative
Association, Sir J. ELPIIINSTONE remarked that he
always had the greatest confidence in the working-
man, and he looked upon it that " the more they
educated, the more they enlightened the working-
men, the more would they become pillars of the
State, and the more would they assist those in
authority in time of need." The hon. baronet made
some sensible observations on the subject of reform,
and showed that the plan of proceeding by raolu-
tions had been successfully tried in the matter of
changing the Government of India. " That bill was
the framework of a Government which would last in
India longer than the lives of those present." For
many reasons we are glad that at this eventful crisis
of public affairs a man like Sir J. ELPHINSTONE
has had so good an opportunity of coming forward
and stating his opinions upon matters with which he
is so well acquainted, and in the town too which he
so ably represented, and where we sincerely trust
he may soon again be elected as member, for he is a
faithful steward of important interests.

meeting.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

OUTWARD BOMBAY MAIL.

GIBRALTAR, Feb. 17

The Tanjore, from Southampton, 12th instant,
arrived to-day, at 2 a.m., and leaves at 9 a.m., for
Alexandria. All well.

INDIA MAILS.

SUEZ, Feb. 17.
The Northam (extra steamer from Bombay
arrived at 3 p.m. to-day.

FRANCE.

BOURSE, Feb. 16.—Two o'clock.—The market is
very animated to-day, and stocks and shares have
experienced a decided advance. The close has taken
place as follows :

4 per Cents 99 50
Do. end month —
3 per Cents. 69 60
Do. end month 69 60
Credit Mobilier 495
Do. end month
Credit Foneier —
Do. end month 1537 50
BAIL'

Bank Shares 3555
Italian Loan 5l 10
Do. end month 54 15
Mexican Loan 2l
Do. Bonds l4O
Spanish Threes
Home Debt —
Deferred
'AYB.

For Account.
Orleans
Northern 1207 50
Lyons and Mediterranean 925
Southern 570
Western —
Eastern
Sardinian —
Austrian
Lombard 406 25
North of Spain
Saragossa
Ditto to Barcelona
Roman.

132 50

The Credit Foncier and Mobilier of England,

MEETING TIIIS DAY.

The ordinary meeting of the directors and share-
holders of the company was held this day at Exeter
Hall. The report, an abstract of which has already
appeared in The Sun, having been taken as read,
Mr. LEVICK, the chairman, in moving the adoption
of the report, proceeded to refer to the state of
commerce during the last year, amidst some im-
patience, and eventually, in obedience to calls of
`Come to the paint," ho sail he was, he
thought, coming to the point by tracing
the position of the company during the
period of the last six or nine months. During
the last half-year the policy of the directors had
been conservative and protective—their great efforts
being directed to the consolidation of the securities,
and to make their property as sound and safe as
they could by possibility do. (Hear, hear.)
They were desirous of so doing in order
to form a basis to work upon when business came
round, rather than run an extraordinary risk
to secure a small profit. With respect to
the valuations in the report everything had
been put down at the lowest, and profits
made during the last six months have been quite
sufficient to cover the depreciation in valuations.
(Hear, hear.) Many of the operations in hand had
years to go before they could be completed, and
therefore it was impossible to value them,
but the nearer those works approached com-
pletion the nearer would they be to the
profit that was certain to accrue. The
alteration in the constitution of the company he
thought would be followed by the best result ;
and with respect to their shares, the amount
of call left unpaid amounted to the mere baga-
telle of £7,130. The directors had exerted
themselves during the last six months most
anxiously for the benefit of the shareholders, and it
would have been impossible to have securities safer
than they had been during the period he had men-
tioned. The case that had appeared in the newspapers
of Seaton and Grant had created great uneasiness
abroad, but on the part of the Company
he contended that nothing could be more false and
scandalous than the charges brought against them ;
and had Mr. Seatou'a charges been made in any
other form than proceedings in Chancery he would
have been indicted for libel. It was not to be
wondered at that their shares felt the ill effects
of the unfounded charges made against them, but
they did not stand alone in not paying a divi-
dend. No finance company could have made a
profit during the last six months, and no sen-
sible shareholder in a company of that description
could have expected it ; but it was a great
satisfaction, for the directors of the Credit Foncier

had made no losses which were not covered by
rest. A great source of difficulty the directors had to
contend with was the desire that was shown by certain
shareholders to inspect and demand explanation on
matters it was quite impossible for the directors to
comply with. (Hear, hear.) What the directors
wanted to carry on the business successfully
was confidence ; that would keep their affairs
in a secure and satisfactory condition, but
as long as their affairs were continually being
condemned without the slightest reason they would
always have a very up. hill work to perform. There
was one thing that he wished clearly to
be understood by the meeting, than the
directors took no commission upon profit
until a dividend was paid of 10 per cent. (Hear,
hear.) The directors had done all they possibly
could for the benefit of the shareholders ; they had
brought the ship home safe ; although the voyage
had not been a profitable one, they had arrived
in port withou t the loss of a single sail or
spar. They hoped when they started on their
next voyage to return with better success, and al-
though he did not anticipate they could pay as large
a dividend as they had done, they would be en-

abled to pay as good a dividend as any reasonable
man could expect for his interest.

➢lr. WARNER seconded the adoption of the report.
Mr. CULVERWELL objected to the receipt of the
report. He contended that the directors were too
highly paid for their services, as by the reduction
they had made in their number they would each
receive a salary of £7OO for doing nothing. He
thought that the number of directors should be
fifteen, seven of whom ought to be elected by the
shareholders. The qualification for the direction
he thought was too high, because it entirely excluded
talented men who had not the means of holding
400 shares in the concern. He concluded by mov-
ing
,a resolution that seven gentlemen elected by
that meeting should be added to the direction.
Mr. GORDON seconded the amendment, because
he believed that the shareholders ought to have a
more distinct and specific voice in the concern. He
was not antagonistic to the directors, because he
felt they had done all they could for the sharehol-
ders, but what he thought right was that the share-
holders should have a greater voice in the manage-
ment of the concern.

Mr. G. STEPHENSON said the directors have been
accused of taking £7OO for doing nothing. But
instead of doing nothing the directors had saved the

ship. Their managing man, Mr. Grant, the Napo-
leon of finance—(hear, and laughter)—had brought
them through the crisis safe. Had he imitated the

policy of Overend and Gurney, Barned's Bank, and
other companies, they would have been in their

position. He hoped the meeting would not dis-
turb the unanimity that at present existed at the

board by carrying the resolution of Mr. Culver-
..

A SHAREHOLDER asked whether it was compe-
tent, in accordance with the articles of association,
for the meeting to carry such a resolution as that
proposed?

Mr. HERITAGE, the solicitor to the company, said
the meeting could not legally carry such a resolu-
tion, 'but if the meeting desired that such a resolu-
tion should be submitted to the shareholders, the
directors would take steps to enable them legally to
do so.

Another SHAREHOLDER suggested that the addi-
tion to the number of directors should be three,
instead of seven.

Mr. GRANT, the managing director, then pro-
ceeded to vindicate the course pursued by the direc-

tors, which he did to the entire satisfaction of the

The report was adopted,