The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-19 00:00:00

LUAATIC ASYLUMS.

___...4...___ _

(From the Times.)
The rsition of a lunatic appears to be one of the most
terrible in which a human being can be place,. There is,
however, a still worse condition, which is that of a person of
sane mind who is treated by his fellsw-creatures as though
be were mad—of one who, being himself of sane mind, is

incarcerated in an asylum intended only for the insane—
who is, therefore, subjected to bodily restraint, and, Will
worse, to the moral and intelleclual indignities consequent
upon a supposed deprivation of reason. To be insane is bad
enough—to be considered insane when a patient is not so in
reality must, as far as present suffering is concerned, be in-
cree'iblv worse. Now. the attention of the public has been
recently and very painfully called to the subject of our
Lunatic Asylums by the disclosures made during thehintvres
ld
a 7
tigation of the Acomb-house case. In the course of t e
it appeared that a lady who in the opinion of a jury was huAnder
e
to be in a sane mind,—at least, when she was brought.c
their notice,—had been confined in a Private Lunati
and sy-
lum; that she had been there treated with grfrightful
riunntreti-i
cessary violence ; that she had been subjected to
gh
indignities ; that when upon two occasions she had succeeded
in making her escape she was fcrcibly brought hack
with hilt little regard to the decencies due to her sex and to
her unfortunate position, if she had been really deprived of
her reason. As a formal investigation into all the circum-
stances of this sad story is now in progress, we Will say no
more about it just now. Another case of the kind has, how-
ever, recently been brought to light. It amounts, in brief,
to this :—A clergyman named Leech was entitled under the
will of bis father to an absolute reversion in the sum of
0000. He was living in a retired manner at Bayswater,
and it is admitted that he entertained strong views upon re-
ligious subjects, and that he wore a beard. His relalves
were tolerant of these enormities, but when he announced
that it was his intention to marry his servant, one result of
which step might well have been that they would have been
cut off from the inheritance, they suddenly jumped to the
conclusion that he was insane. His brother-in-law and his
assistant signed the necessary certificate, and upon the
strength of this very loose proceeding keepers were directed
to seize the patient in his house at Bayswater and convey
him to a lunatic asylum. They did so. His furniture and
other property were disposed of, and there the matter might
have rested, and the unfortunate gentleman might have
remained in confinement for the remainder of his life, but
for the interference of certain tradesmen at Bayswater with
whom he had been in the habit of dealing for years. They
could not understand that their old customer, who had lived
among them so long, and in all respects comported himself
as a rational and respectable man, could be a lunatic. They
succeeded in discovering the place of his confinement, and
such steps were taken that Mr. Leech's sanity was con-
clusively established to the satisfaction of a jury, and he
regained his liberty. Here are two cases; we have before
us the particulars of a third, but we are not, unfortunately,
in a condition to publish the names. Suffice it to say that
an unfortunate gentleman who had been suffering from
bodily disorder which finally affected his brain, but who
was not mad, was incarcerated in one of those horrid dens
which are called Private Lunatic Asylums, and there con-
fined for months. By bis own account he was treated with
the greatest cruelty, strapped down to a bed with broad
bands of webbing, anti kept there till it was supposed be
was dying. The result we will state in the sufferer's own
words:—" My back, from lying in one constrained
posture, was a mass of ulcerated and sloughing
sores; my right hand was swollen enormously,
and useless; and two fingers of the left hand were
permanently contracted, and the joints destroyed. I also
lost several front teeth." This poor man at last obtained
bis liberty, and applied to the Commissioners for redress.
The letter of their Secretary in reply is now before us. The
Commissioners merely say that, although they do not in
any degree impugn the integrity of the complainant's
statements, they are not of opinion that inquiry would
answer any good purpose. They add, however, that
"in order to mark their opinion on the subject,-
they have granted Mr.-- a licence provisionally for the
limited period of four months only, and that the renewal
will depend upon the condition and management of his esta-
blishment being entirely satisfactory in the meantime."
Poor consolationjthis for all the misery the wretched sufferer
had undergone!
Here, then, are three cases following one upon the
other in rapid succession. How many remain behind of
which we know nothing ? The fact would appear to be
that under existing arrangements any English man or
woman may without much difficulty be incarcerated in a
private lunatic asylum when not deprived of reason. If
actually deprived of reason when first confined, patients
may be retained in duress when their cure is perfected,
and they ought to be released. That our actual system
may be fully understood we publish to-day a well-
digested statement, prepared by a physician who
has especially directed his attention to such sub-
jects. He tells us that there are three kinds of public lunatic
asylums—the first being public asylums for the pauper pa-
tients of counties and boroughs, maintained out of the rates;
—the second " lunatic hospitals" for patients not paupers,
including persons from all ranks and classes in society. The
asylums which fall under one or other of these two categories
the writer considers, on the whole, to be well managed,
although they are susceptible of great improvement. Then
there is a third or hybrid class of public asylums, which are
partly county asylums, and partly lunatic asylums for pri-
vate patients. There are not many of them now, and they
are gradually merging into one or other of the two first-
named divisions. The objections to an arrangement so ano-
malous are so very obvious that we need not dwell upon
them here; but, as these mixed institutions are fast disap-
pearing, it is unnecessary to dwell further upon this part of
the subject. It is not suggested that any such cases as the
three which we have mentioned above have occurred,
or could occur, at any of the public asylums. The
opproprium of our system is the " private lunatic
asylum, or licensed house." Many of these esta-
blishments are, of course, perfectly well conducted, but
there are others in which it is much to be feared that a per-
son not being a lunatic might be confined for a lengthened
period, if not for life, with but little chance of redress. They
are mere commercial speculations for tbe benefit of the pro-
prietors. All that is required to set up in this line of busi-
ness is in the metropolitan districts a licence, which is
granted by the Commissioners in Lunacy, and in the pro-
vinces by the magistrates in Quarter Sessians. The only
check over the proceedings of toe proprietors is that in the
metropolitan districts each asylum is visited by tbe Commis-
sioners in Lunacy four times a-year. In the provinces the
magistrates inspect each establishment in a similar manner.
The Commissioner in Lunacy, moreover, visit the provin-
cial establishments twice a-year. It is stated, however
and we gas- well believe it to be the truth—that in one way
or another the proprietors of such establishments always ob-
tain intelligence of an impending visit, and all things are
made snug for the inspection of the visitors. Even so we hare
not done with our enumeration of places in which any of our
fellow-subjects may be confined under the pretext that he isnot
in his right reason. Any person can take charge of a sinale
patient without a licence, and, although the same certifi-
cates and formaliiies are required as in the case of private
asylums, these requirements arc constantly evaded. "Not
a few of the persons," writes our informant, " who daily
advertise for these single patients are discharaed or surer-
annuated attendants of asylums, brought up, perhaps, and
prejudiced in favour of the worst forms of mechanical
restraint, and all the horrors of the old system of treating
the insane. A practice prevails of farming out one patient
to this private lodging, and another to that, to avoid the
necessity of a licence, or the inconvenience of an inspec-
tion." These being the places in which lunatics, or per-
sons alleged to be lunatics, can be confined, it remains that
we should add a few words upon the ceremonies which
must be fulfilled before any of tne Queen's subjects can be
remitted to one or other of these places of confinement.
More we cannot hope, from considerations of space, to ac-
complish to-day.
In the first place, there must be an order for the
reception of a patient. What the nature of this order
tray be does not particularly appear in the state-
ment which we now lay befbre our readers, but at any rate
an order there must be. Then there must be a statement of
certain particulars, signed by some friend or relative—pre-
bably the hungry expectant of the inheritance. Next, there
must he two cert'ficates, to be signed by two medical rime
wholly unconnected with each other, and who, without pre-
vious meeting or consultation, state that the patient ought
to be put nnder restraint. So far it would appear that any
unprincipled person whose interest lay that way might. bribe
a couple of doctors of no cot'sideratien in the prof,,sqon, and
the patient is trapped. It is stated, moreover, that the
practice as to the filling up of these certificates is lax in the
extreme. When the patient is once admitted the superin-
tendent of the asylum must, within seven days, give notice
to the Commissioners in Lunacy and to the Clerk of the
Visiting Justices of the fresh admission. He must add to
this document a certificate stating his own opinion of the
case, and this must he done two days after the admission of
the patient—not before, that his observations may be ma-
tured. After this the only security lies in the visits of the
Commissioners and of the Visiting Justices; but it may well
happen that these are not made until the superintendent
has ample time to convert a dubious or partial case of insa-
nity into a confirmed one by injudicious treatment. When a
Commissioner sees him for the first time—the man is mad !

CHARTISM AT A DISCOUNT.—The attempt of a few
of the old Chartist ringleaders in BradforA (says the _Leeds
Mercury) to get up a fresh agitation has not been attendeB
with success. The adjourned meeting on Bradford Moor on
Sunday afternoon was utterly a failure. Some 50 people
assembled, and a few pence were raised.
CRYSTAL PALACE.—ONE SHILLING DAY.—Yes-
terday the admissions me payment were 5,285; do. by season
tickets. 596; tlek.%l, 5,881.

[ADVERTISEMENT].—The Earl of Aldborough and
Holloway's Pills.—A remarkable cure by this powerful me-
dicine, alter every other means had failed. See extract from
his Lordship's letter, dated Villa Messina, Leghorn, Feb.2l,
11343:—" To Professor Holloway.—Sir, I beg to acquaint
you that your pills have effected a cure of a disorder in my
I;ver and stomach, which all the most eminent of the faculty,
at home and all over the Continent, had not been able to
effect—nay, not even the waters of Carlsbad or Marienbad.
(Signed) ALDBOROUGH." It is not necessary to append
any comment whatever to such a statement as the above. It
must carry conviction to the most sceptical mind. A fact is
more impressive than any argument.

[ADVERTISEMENT.]—The great injury inflicted on
the interest the public
many isvalids by drugs inert
take in Du Barry's Revalent(andsA:rabica Food, which cures
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Norfolk." " rom the Venerable Archdeacon Ross.—
No. AKZ— Three y ears' excessive nervousness, with
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Supported by testimonials from the celebrate Professors of
r. Chemistry Dr. Andrew Ure, Dr. Shorland, Dr. Harvey,
Lord Campbell, Dr. Ga•tiker, Dr. Witmer, Dr. Ingram,
Stuart de Decies M •
orGen. Thomas King, and many
other respectable ' 19
it, after all other ersons whose health has been restored by
with full means
instructi cf er.,,, 1-1.1 ET cl. Suitahlr packed,
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free, on receipt of Post The 121 b canisters are sent carriage
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Vice-Cbancellor Sir winiam f raking imitations :—The
junction on the 10th March, isrie Wood granted an In-
-Nevill, for imitating "Du Barr' against Alfred Hooper
Food." Y's RevalenAa Arabica

RAILWAY _INTELLIGENCE.

GREAT NORTH FRN.
Mr. Mowatt, the late secretary of this company, has just
issued a letter to the shareholders in anticipation of the
half-yearly meeting of Friday next. Having stated that
he was dismissed through the hostile feelings of Mr. Deni-
son, " and that it was not justified by any reasonable
ground, has been amply shown after a long and painful
investigation by the verdict of an impartial jury,"
Mr. Mowatt states that he originally fell into dis-
favour with the chairman by opposing his views and up-
holding the interests of the shareholders. He did his best,
he states, to stem reckless expenditure and prevent extra-
vagant guarantees, but without success. He states that so
long ago as 1848, when the law costs bad amounted to
£284,000 in a period of four years, he supported a
plan for having a resident solicitor on the company's
premises, clerks, stationery, moneys out of pocket,
Sze., to be charged direct against the company, but
was overruled by the chairman, who proposed that the
secretary's salary should not exceed £OOO a-year,
and that the then secretary be requested to resign. The
motion fell to the ground for want of a seconder, when Mr.
Denison resigned the chair; but subsequently allowed him-
self to be re-elected, when " his power was mere absolute
than ever." He then states that as early as April, 1855, he
had reason to believe there was something wrong in Red-
path's accounts, and wrote for explanations, which he did
not receive until the 20th January following, when he called
Mr. Denison's attention to them ; but it was not until
October of that year, after two half-yearly meetings, at
which Mr. Denison had declared his conviction in the.:
accuracy of the accounts, that a statement was obtained
which showed a discrepancy of £137,000 in the proper
amount of stock, and en the following 27th January the
board passed a resolution thanking Mr. Mowatt and Mr. C.
Oakley, the assistant-secretary, fur their persevering con-
duct in bringing to light the frauds of Redpath. Mr.
Mowatt then alludes to the charge of not checking the
warrants prior to placing his signature to them, which he
states would have been a phyjleal impossibility with
the time allowed for their issue,ind then concludes :
" The charges which I have already referred to had been
brought against me by parties whose information was super-
ficial, and whose animosity was strong. They had never
been alleged against me by any member of the board.
During the whole period of my secretaryship, whether be-
fore or since the Itedpath frauds, no hint had ever been
dropped to me by any OS tor that it was my province to
have checked the warrilfs, or that I had been guilty of a
breach of duly in not doing so. Upon this point Mr. Baron
Bramwell, in charging the jury, remarked as follows:
" ' Now, gentlemen, the evidence, if one looks at it, is
this—in the first place, you have Mr. Mowatt's oath on the
matter. " For 12 years I have been doing this thing in
this way known to the directors, who have continually seen
me doing it, and they did not tell me it was wrong." That
is entirely uncontradicted. Mr. Bovill says that be is con-
tent that you should take Mr. Mowatt's statement of fact,
and form your own judgment upon that.'
" The first intimation of the kind I ever received from
the board was by the resolution which I am about to set
forth on the 22d December, 1857, and which it will be con-
venient to call the Redpath resolution. At that time I was
certainly entitled to conclude, and I did conclude, that I
bad heard the last of the charge in question from any quar-
ter; to suppose that it would be then brought against me
for the first time by the directors never for a moment en-
tered into my mind. At the stormy. meeting of the Ist of
December, 1857, Mr. Greening's motion for a vote of cen-
sure upon the directors in respect of the Redpath frauds
had been rejected, and Mr. Scott's amendment imputing
blame to me had been withdrawn—the reasonable conelu-
sion was, that these criminations and recriminations were
at an end for ever. My relations with the chairman were
apparently never so friendly. I bad some time before been
entrusted with about a quarter of a million of money, to
replace the forged stock, and this responsible operation I
had just brought to a successful close.
" Such was the state of things on the 22d of December,
1857. At the board meeting of that day a personal question
arose respecting the recent altercation that had taken place
between myself and Mr. Waters. I was requested to retire,
and on my return, after disposing of the personal matter,
Mr. Denison proceeded to state that the board had also been
discussing the conduct of the officers who were responsible
or blameable in respect of the Redpath frauds, and had
requested him to read to me the following resolution :

THE REDPATH RESOLUTION.—BOARD, DEC. 22, 1857.
" The investigation of the Redpatb frauds being now
completed, and no further light being likely to be thrown
on the subject, the board feels bound to record their opinion
that although Mr. W. H. Clark, the registrar of the com-
pany, during the six years of the continuance of Redpath's
frauds, was most culpably negligent of his duty, and but
for such negligence the frauds must at once have been de-
tected, if they had ever began ; and although the board are
also of opinion that Mr. Reynolds, the late accountant,
ought to have noticed and reported to the directors much
sooner than he did the discrepancies between his own
accounts and the statements given by the registrar ; never-
theless the board is clearly of opinion that the frauds must
have been discovered long before if the secretary had not
signed the dividend warrants sent to him by the registrar
from time to time, without taking any measures whatever
to check or record the amount for which he signed, and that
be therein failed in the peifornaance of a most important
duty.'
" I do not know that I was ever more surprised and hurt
than when I heard this resolution read. I remonstrated
against it at the moment ; I remonstrated against it with
Mr. Denison privately in the strongest terms. He advised
me to make light of it. I felt that I could not do so con-
sistently with what was due to myself. If that resolution
was allowed to be entered uncontradicted on the minutes of
the company, not only was my official character for com-
petency and vigilance ruined, but the foundation was laid
tier dismissing me at any time. I resolved temperately but
firmly to submit to the board a wriqen statement of my
own caie, and I did so on the sth January, 1858, the next
board day, in the following letter :
" THE SECRETARY'S LETTER OF PROTEST OF JANUARY
5, 1858.

" Gentlemen—The board on the 221 ultimo having
passed a resolution recording the opinion that Redpath's
frauds must have been discovered long before they were had
I not failed in the performance of my duty, in having
signed the dividend warrants as sent to me by the registrar
fur signature, without taking measures to check them, or
record the amount I signed for, and feeling myself wronged
by that opinion, I beg leave respectfully to submit this my
protest against it, with the following oieervations:—
" Never watsl more taken by surmise than when the
chairman read to me the resolution on my being recalled to
the board-reorn, after an absence of nearly two hours, hav-
ing been requested to withdraw on the board proceeding to
discuss quite a different subject.
"' No intimation had been given to me, and I was no'
aware that the board had intended to call in question any
part of my conduct, after all that had transpired and taken
place with respect to Redpatit and his frauds, in the inter-
val from the discovery of them in November, 1856, and I
am persuaded, if all the facts and attendant circumstances
were known to the several members of the board they would
be of a different opinion to that of the 22d December.
" Ido not admit it to have been any part of my duty,
as secretary, to examine, or check, or record the amount of
dividend warrants when brought to me for signature, and
before signing them ; to have done that would have been
inconsistent and incompatible with the multifarious duties
properly belonging to my office; as well might it be required
of me to examine aed record the general accounts of the
company, for the payment of which I have to sign some, and
to countersign others of the drafts on the company's hankers
daily, and numbering many thousands a-year. The divi-
dend warrants prepared by some, and examined by ether
c'erks in the Registration Office, were finally checked by
the registrar personally before that officer brought them to
me for signature; and half-year by half-year, and con-
stantly dut hie the performance and issue of them, I im-
pressed upon the registrar the necessity for the greatest care
on his part, and that officer as invariably and repeatedly,
when bringing to me the warrants for signature assured
me of their accuracy, and of the pains taken by his clerks
and by himself to ensure it ; and in the printed evidence of
Mr. W. H. Clark, the late registrar, before the Giesler Com-
mit teeof Inquiry,Pages 4 and s,he stated that hebrought them
to me believing them to be accurate, and leading me to
believe they were. It must be understood, too, that lam
not alone in the position of being obliged to adopt, and ac-
cept as comet, documents brought to me for signature ; for
instance, the accountant necessarily depends upon the store-
keeper to certify that the goods for which bills are presented
for payment have been duly received, and also the engineer
fur works done ; indeed, the system is the same throughout
the service, and necessarily so, otherwise responsible heads
coef
nd
terpeari
nt mtehnetsseweroentladrybe, fallacies,
r and all
h is tresponsibility
heau thwould
officer to sign the order on the banker to pay, as the final
act in the transaction.
" It is right, further, to add, that a full and correct re-
cord was made of each warrant before it was issued, and that
such records still exist, of which I was always aware, and
often in the course of business referred to.
" In the natural order of things, the check upon the
Registration Department was that of the accountant, and
there was every reason to believe that this test was in con-
stant operation, because it is within my knowledge that the
accountant and the registrar constantly communicated with
each other with the view to adjust their respective accounts.
"' It must be further observed, that the check in force by
nine principal railway companies lately visited by Mr.
Grinling, the acting registrar, by order of the directors,
was precisely the same as in this company, and was, it is
therefore fair to suppose, considered efficient by tke direc-
tors and officers of taose companies, and surely then it ought
not to be alleged that I was wanting in foresight or attention
in permitting the system to continue when such evidence is
adduced that it was the practice generally, if not universally
followed.
" • In every one of those nine companies, the secretary
signed the warrants without any further examination by
himself or by any staff under his control, and so far as simi-
larity of practice is any justification, I am certainly entitled
to exoneration from blame or censure.
" ' In the desire to avoid being tedious, I abstain as much
as possible from going into particulars, to show the inutility
of any check that under the circumstances I could have
established, but, perhaps, it may be as well to mention that
I should hsve been entirely dependent upon the accountant
for the figures to compare with the amount of the dividend
warrants issued, and, as that officer's books had, by the re-
presentation of Redpath. been altered to snit those of the-
latter, it would not have been until the latter end of 1851
that any excessive issue of warrants could have been detected.
systemm thea` 7 accountant
ciao
,dut hotnieit,
that
etyndeit
in the
tahhsloeBeosk2s
.2t h et t over-pai
s ther eyfmoreenthhshvioswhesdtihtssetlfthine
it 1 I.ocsi edns aanhdd uNs esfrutlh f-ovvr de
se
tteercht ocno,thapnadh
yI
the examination by the accountant after payment was and
ff is relied upon as suicient, and the only one that time will
permit or companies afford.
" Neither cad I admit that I am deserving of blame
because the system in vogue in this and other principal
railway companies turns out to be insecure.
"' t was universally suppoced to be efficient, and its
radical failure in thi3 row arky ought not to be wholly
ascribed to its unsoundness, but because it was not faith-
fully carried out in its integrity by the registrar and the
accountant.
"'Annexed are two pamphlets, the one. "C" was given in
myself to the Giesler Committee, but not pub-
lishedE," containing Iv
o padated 213 d November lest to Mr.
evidence by
or noticed in the rpeeprosrat,,idtrheessoetdhebrymmarrk.eGdri'n' pin'g',atnhde
acting registrar, D" dated 27th November to
myself, ni s o stilthis, Mr.
Grinling's examine-
Precthoredeihngairtmheatil.; and E"

tion of the systems of registration of the nine other railway
companies he was instructed to visit and report upon.
" 'These pamphlets confirm my statements in all parti-
culars.
Although by the foregoing explanation I may tot be
so fortunate as to succeed in convincing the bard that I do
not deserve the imputation cast upon me by the resolution
of the 221 December, my conscience acquits me of the blame
imputed, and tells me that during nearly 14 years I have
held my office, my arduous, varied, and incessant duties have
been performed to the best of my ability, fearlessly and
faithfully with a view to the company's interests only, and
oftentimes tinder circumstances of difficulty and discourage-
ment few holding a similar post can have had to contend
with, and that, therefore, were my services appreciated 1
should have been spared the pain of having thus to write in
my own vindication.--I am, gentlemen, your faithful hum-

We servant,
(Signed) "J. R. MOIVATT, Secretary."
"Such was my letter of protest : it was meant as nothing
more than a firm but respectful statement of my own case :
whether it deserved censure I leave you to form your own
opinion. The following passage from Mr. Baron Bramwell's
summing-up at the trial, wilt sufficiently show you in what
light it was viewed by that acute, able, and impartial judge :
" ' He (Mowatt) wrote a letter, which you recollect Mr.
Chambers read in his opening; it was read as one of the
documents, and we stopped Mr. Bovill ftotn i eading it a
third time, and which I feel myself precluded f om reading
again to you, but I have no doubt it is fresh in your recol-
lection. Now, a more reasonable letter than that fora man
to write I cannot conceive. He says, you have brought a
complaint against me; you say that I ought to have done
someth'ng, you have given me no opportunity of being
heard before you passed that condemnatory resolution, let
me now protest and give you my reasons with all civility,
regretting that he should have occasion to do so, and really
writing in the most civil way in which a man can possibly
write who is minded not to plead guilty, which silence
would be, to a charge which he believes to be unfounded.
What upon earth could any fair and reasonably-minded
man see to find fault with in that letter; I really cannot
understand it. It is to my mind one of the strangest things
in the world. One would let a dog, if I may say so, make
an apology far himself if you brought a charge against him.
He would be heard in his defence at all events, and if not,
it is worse than Rhadamanthus. If you do not hear him
before you punish him, at all events hear him after you have
castigated him. But they say no, you shall not be heard
before your sentence or after it. I must say that to my
mind is as unreasonable a thing as can be.'
" Such was the view taken by Mr. Baron Bramwell;
such was not the view taken by Mr. Denison. At the next
board meeting, 19th January, 1858, he called the attention
of the board to the letter, and moved a resolution, which,
after commenting on various points of the letter, discussing
the question of the Redpath frauds, and the duties of the
several officers in connection therewith, and remarking
'that the directors are quite ready to acknowledge 'toe
honesty, zeal, and fidelity, with which they have every
reason to believe he (Mowatt) has always served the com-
pany, concludes thus :
" ' The secretary's letter, however, raises two questions
of much more consequence than that, being, in tact, no-
thing less than these :
" ' Ist. Whether the duties of the officers of this company
are to be defined by themselves or by the board.
" ' 2dly. Whether the directors are to be at liberty to
censure any officer for what they may consider neglect of
duty or misconduct, without being immediately rebuked by
him for their interference or expression of their opinion, and
for disregard of his feelings; such an issue can be deter-
mined only in one way by any board who mean to remain
directors instead of being the servants of their own officers ;
and the directors therefore feel that they have no indepen-
dent or respectable alternative but to decide that Mr. Mowatt
cannot be allowed to retain the office of secretary of this
company—at the Fame time Mr. Mowatt is informed that,
'although his services cannot be retained for the reasons now
stated, he is not to be considered as dismissed for any mis-
conduct, and that he is at liberty to resign and to retire
within a reasonable time according to his own conve-
nience.'
" On this resolution of the 19th Janumy, 1558, Mr.
Baron Bramwell thus expresses his opinion ill the jury :
" ' Although I hold that in point of law, if the resolution
(i.e., the Redpath resolution of 22d December, 1857) was
bond fide, it was reasonable, I cannot help thinking
ssed
that
you will not consider that the resolution which was pa
condemning him for having written that letter was a rea-
sonable one. For my own part I think it was an excessively
unreasonable one. I think they ought to have heard him,
and not made any complaint against him for having done
so. That was the exception which I told you I thought
existed to the resolutions.'
"Unreasonable, however, as Mr. Denison's motion was,
and reasonable as was the letter which occasioned it, Mr.
Faber, his son-in-law, moved as an amendment that ' the
secretary be asked to withdraw his letter,' which he, upon
a remonstrance by Mr. Denison, altered to 'that upon the
letter.'secretary
Aassk ing
offencew permission,aspr professedly
eed allowedly t
skent, a onwdi thldhr aawd his
tended none, I was prevailed upon by my friends to with-
draw the letter, upon the clear understanding that the
matter would be allowed to drop. Permission to withdraw
it was given. Mr. Denison consented not to press his mo-
tion for my resignation, seeing that the feeling of the board
was decidedly against him, notwithstanding he bad previously
canvassed the motion over (as be himself informed me)
and obtained the concurrence to it of his party in the direc-
torate, not one of whom seconded it, it being left to Mr. F.
Parker to do so, to Mr. Denison's subsequently expressed
anno- -ice. In point of fact, as Mr. Astell observed, he did
not C : -e to put either Mr. Faber's amendment er his own
motion ; but he expressed himself satisfied, and an entry to
that effect was made in the minutes. My friends congratu- ,
lated me on the result. They declared, and I was credulous
enough to conclude, that ' all disagreeables,' to use Mr. I
Faber's expression, ' were now over ;' and, as if to assure
me that this was the case, Mr. Denison and Mr. Packe came
to my room the morning following the board to consult
me upon important financial operations, arranging for
me to accompany Mr. Packe to see the Governor of the
Bank of England, and th were unusually cordial and
polite. I ought to have known ler. Denison better. The
general meeting of February -18, 1858, passed off, as many
of you will recollect,ewith remarkable tranquillity. Mr.
Packe (in Mr. Denison's absence) took the chair, and in
reference to the Redpath frauds (the only allusion to them
that was made), expressed his trust ' that the very name of
Redpath wes forgotten and buried for ever.'
" I had no reason therefore to suppose that I should hear
anything more on the subject of resignation. I was soon
undeceived. I had intimation of a hostile movement being
intended against rue at the board of the 11th March.
Nothing, however, transpired at the board; but after it,
Mr. Packe and Mr. Alderman Meek asked to speak to me
in my own room, and told me it was the expectation of the i
board that I would resign; but they concealed from me the I
fact that Mr. Denison had addressed a letter to Mr. Packe,
which had been shown to other directors in the board-room
that day, from which the directors could only understand
that, as he was not supported in his movement against the
secretary, he would resign the chair, and retire from the
board—in point of fact, it was 1848 over again. As lof
course declined thus to pees judgment against myself; with
the Redpath resolution still on the minutes of the board,
Mr. Packe by letter, on the 23d of March, requested that I
would circulate the following notice for the board meeting
of the 30th :-
6" Mr. Packe will move—That after the late discussion
at the board, and no resignation having been received from
the secretary, that the appointment of J. It. Mowatt, as
secretary to this company, be cancelled.'
" In the meantime I was advised by Mr. Pyrn, Col. Dun-
combo, and other friends, not to think of resigning,
although one of the considerate suggestions brought to me
as a message from Mr. Packe was, that I might resign on
the plea of ill-heath, and Mr. Denison sent me word that
he would be satisfied if I promised to go by the 30th June.
I saw Mr. Denison, and in answer to my remonstrances
could only get ft om him that the question was with the board,
and he was nit sure that he would be present. He stayed
g
e
odiai‘l%3,lwiliirisr.rictapy..
hun.i:Ft,...sh
Packets
ceselnhiknpfriaol,2a.iairirlsenik:s;
wemsrwritNao:eillpiitg:iiisjc,odiolinllrreyinwt
Aohricay.evi.
fnse
Walker,
:bit
.kwymetlro.irkt,
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r
the justice to speak in my favour in a manner for which I
must ever be most grateful, the motion was carried by five
vetes to four, viz.:-For—Major Anasinck, Mr. Burkill, Mr.
haplin, Mr. F. Parker, and Mr. Walker; against—the
Hon. Col. Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Astell, Mr. Pym, and Mr.
Paull. Mr. Parke did not vote.
" Thus by a section of only six out cf 16 directors, and by
a tnnjqrity of one vote, I was dismissed.
" On Mr. Pectic declaring the motion to have been car•
tied, I immediately rose from my scat at the board table,
and said, ' The motion being carried, I am dismissed from
my office, my functions cease, and I shall withdraw," I
threw down my pen, deliberately walked out of the )lOard
room, and after making a few necessary arrangements in,
my own room, left for Kingston, Where I had to give evi-
dence at the assizes in a case affectinet the interests of the
company. I next evening received a letter IS- met Mr. Sey-
mour Clarke, the general manager, telling me that the
board did not desire that I should leave until the 30th of
June. The wretched quibble was pleaded in defence, that
' cancelling' my appointment was not ' dismissal.' This
was, of course, overruled by the jury. What the judge's
opinion on the proceeding was is obvious from the following
passage front his summing up :
" ' This case has excited a good deal of feeling on the
part of the plaintiff and the learned counsel who appear on
both sides ; and I do not wonder at it, because one cannot
help saying that, after fourteen years' service, where a man
has conducted himself, as it is admitted fatal beginning t,
end, with zeal, ability, integrity, honesty and industry, it
does seem to me that the right way to get rid of him is by a
different mode from that which was adopted in this case. I
cannot help saying so.'
"Such was the termination of 14 years' faithful service.
Such was the triumph of Mr. Denison over the man of
whom, on the 29th May, 1837, he had spoken as follows
before the Giesler Committee
"3,793, p. 62.—' I (Denison) must say with regard to the
secretary, that I never knew a better officer in my life.'
" ' I must say for Mr. Mowatt that I don't believe a more
honest, intelligent, hard-working man exists. I think I
should do him injustice if I did not say so much for him.'
"3,794, p. 63.—Mr. Walker, the director present, as a
you (Denison) do him (Mowatt)
'bound to say that I member of the Giesler Committee, here said, As far as my
noobsmerovraetitohnangoes I think
~
3,797,
p.
6j3u.slic,eli(nDseanyiisnogrothaamt.
can-
not speak too highly of Mr. Mowatt. I think he is as
honourable a men as ever walked.'
" ' I must say I (Denison) do not see how the business
can be more regularly or cautiously conducted than it is (at
the hoard), for that is always under the control of the
secretary, and it is on that account I cannot speak too
highly of his services.'
" (Some of this evidence was not published by the com-
mittee.)
fmr
isotna
iritsc c ;eel
to,n nt
}else
ttt dI
with
I willhtue
a entototndeattalianou
wylwfistlht,tahnedcimreyu
had no alternative left than either to sit down silent, ruined
by the stigma of having been dismissed on justifiable grcunds,
or to establish, before the sole tribunal open to me, that my
dismissal was wholly unjustified, and my character for official
competency unimpaired.
" The writ was issued on the 15th of April ; the cause was
tried before a special jury at Cheltnefrrd on th 221 nd
2:3d of July. Every effort had been used by the defendants
to prevent the trial coming on. They had
put pleas on the
record, which extended over upwards of 330 folios; and so
late as the Friday preceding the trial they harassed me by
varying and adding to their pleas, potinfr in emone.t niheTs•
law
preventing, were
the absurd allegation that I caused a loss to the comp oty of
upwards of £lOO,OOO. Ingenious demurrers on points of
alsoitr. epsoorssteibdlet,o
myby the
merits, to the jury. Mr. Denison, Mr. Packe, Mr. Meek,
submittingeoany with the view of
together with several officers of the Great Northern and
had been clearly pointedw the case, on its
other railway companies, were present at the trial, but though
challenged, Mr. Denison did not dare to go into the box
case, conducted with cons'
himself or call a single 't
blished,their cas b •
Cham-
bers, was fully and fairly
e being rested on the arguments whose fallacy
oununietsmsi .na t
mea rb. TheiriGlirt
ability
ibei
yansg,is
rr.e weret
report. DIY
lel esta-
blished, -Y..
laid before the jury; as fully, at

least, as the want of opportunity to cross-examine Mr.
Denison and his witnesses permitted. The Hon. Col. Oeta-
vies Duncombe, M.P., Mr. Astell, and Mr. Paull did me
the favour to attend as witnesses on my behalf. Col. Dun-
combe was examined, and distinctly corroborated my evi-
dence, 'confirming my statement of the treatment I had
been subjected to, and he was complimented by the judge
in his summing up on the gentlemanly view he had taken
and expressed, as recorded in notes of the proceedings of the
board which I had been allowed to read in evidence. The
evidence of Col. Duncombe rendered it unnecessary to
trouble Mr. Astell or Mr. Paull. Mr. Pvm and others
would also have attended on my behalf but for illness. The
judge especially directed attention to the questions whether
it was in any way my duty as secretary to the Great Northern
Railway to have checked or recorded the amounts for which
I signed the warrants, or in any way to have acted as secre-
tary otherwise than I did. Baron Bramwell stated—
"' I was reminding you of the practice of the other com-
panies, and I was reminding you of what his own duties
were. He says the duty of the secretary was not to check
accounts. One's own notion of a secretary's office is, that
it is not his business. Then you are to bear in mind that
this fraud could not have been committed without the care-
lessness or connivance of Redpath's clerk, and the careless-
ness or connivance of the accountant, Mr. Reynolds.' Then
you have Mr. Denison's statement that Mr. Mowatt was
not to blame in this matter, and be took his part ; you have
Mr. Grinling's statement to the same effect; and, as I said
before, you have no witness called on the part of the defen-
dants, to show you that either it writhet natural.duty of the
secretary, if one may say so, or, tha he was even specially
or particularly enjoined to perform it. You have his oath
that it was not his natural duty, and that nobody ever told
him to perform it ; and sou have his oath that after Mr.
Denison, a most competent person to form an opinion on
the matter, knew sufficient ?f it to express an opinion of it,
' he did not express an opinion that Mr. Mowatt had been

wrong.'
" The jury, without hesitation and with entire unanimity,
after a most close and unremitting attention to all the ci:.
cumstances of the case, gave their verdict in my favour,
expressing their clear opinion 'that there was a dismissal;
that there was no cause for the dismissal ; that it was un-
Yountdamages they could by law
un-
reasonable, and without justification.' The jury were
dgiirveac twe upon
confinestbi this,
salary, which became due at the end of June. I was aware
that this would be so. I brought my action, not to recover
damages but to preserve character; and I only advert to
the point here lest in any quarter it may erroneously be
supposed that £2OO formed an adequate measure of the sense
entertained by the jury, either of the conduct of Mr. Denison
and his party among the direct Ors, or of the injury which
by reason of that conduct I was likely to sustain.
"Ladies and gentlemen,—I have now laid the facts before
you, and I have done so in the discharge of what I feel to
be a public duty. I was, and always considered myself to be,
emphatically the officer of the shareholders. My views of
the functions of the secretary are that he is in an especial
manner charged with the guardianship of your interests. It
is you alone who are empowerid by Act of Parliament to fix
his salary. Mr. Denison himself has recorded his opinion,
on oath before the Lords' Committee, that it is desirable the
secretary should act as a check on the proceedings of the
directors. It is for you to say whether you approve or dis-
prove of such treatment of an officer who for 14 years has in
this capacity served you well and faithfully; who, within a
few months of his dismissal, had been entrusted by the board
with the uncontrolled possession of nearly a quarter of a
million for the purpose of buying up the stock fraudu-
lently over-issued, which operation he had brought to a
successful close and reported to the board the very day
(January 19, 1858) on which Mr. Denison proposed his
condemnatory resolution; to whom Mr. Denison himself
had proposed and carried a vote of thanks, and of whom,
speaking with a full knowledge of all the facts, he declared
not a year and a-half ago, I never knew a better cfficer
in my life," and regarding whom, at the moment of my
most active exertions in the Redpath matter, he bad actually
inquired whether I was disposed to go on to the direction.
If his testimony as to my value as an officer was true at the
end of May, 1857, was it less true at the end of March,
1858 ; if true at both periods, why was I dismissed ? Con-
trast the treatment I have received with the principle of
action avowed by Mr. Denision when he declared at the
general meeting of March 12,1857
" ' I want yon to forgive and forget every omission ex-
cepting the commission of forgeries by Redpath. Do not
look back, but look forward. Do not accuse any man of
being negligent, unless you find he has been fraudulent,
and then hang him if yon can.'—(G. N. R. Report, p. )
" This letter, though many facts of great importance are
necessarily omitted, has extended to a length not contem-
plated. I have been compelled in the course of it to intro-
duce the names of several individuals; hut I have done se
only where it has been essential for the purpose of elu
all othercidating
my real position as your late officer, g
intention or object.
" I know that you cannot undo what has been done, but,
at all events, you can record your protest against it; that
protest, which to me would be more valuable even than the
verdict of the jury, is the only justice I ask at your bands,
the only retribution you can make or I can receive for 14
years hard service, suddenly put an end to by an abrupt and
groundless dismissal."
Mr. Mowatt states that since the discovery of the forgeries
it has been ascertained that before Redpath enteredithe
service of the Brighton Company, where he had been satis-
factorily engaged for a short time, and from whence he
received a character for capacity, be had " misapplied the
funds of a firm by whsm he had previously been employed.
He had become a bankrupt under highly discreditab'e cir-
cumstances a few weeks after his marriage, paying 2s. 6d. in
the pound, and be subsequently gained a living as a hawker
of rabbits and poultry about the streets of Folkestone."

MIDLAND.
The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at Derby.

Mr. Beale, M.P., in the chair.
The advertisement convening the meeting having been
read, and the seal of the company attached to the register
of shareholders, the report and statement of accounts were
taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN then addressed the meeting, and ob-
served that they were now at the end of a somewhat
eventful period of six months in the history of railways.
They had had bad times to contend with, and bad trade;
and, like many of their neighbours, could not show as
satisfactory a statement as at previous meetings. But
notwithstanding these drawbacks, the result of the working
of the Midland system was that they had a larger amount of
receipts to show in the half-year just terminated than in
the corresponding period of 18.17. The quarrels which had
taken place between two companies was not without a
damaging effect upon neighbouring lines, and so serious had
it become that several companies had considered whether it
was not inctembent upon them to take measures for the',
own defence. The Midland Company, had, however, in
common with some of their neighbours, considered that on
the whole it was better to suffer a little than to allow the
quarrel to extend further than was absolutely necessary.
(Hear, hear.) They had, therefore, endeavoured to allay
the troubles about them, and to bring about harmony as fat
as possible. Those efforts, he regretted to say, had been
only partially successful ; but they would continue
them in the hope that in :he end they would be
crowned with success. (Hems, hear.) It was quite
clear that since the Midland Company had a certain
amount of competition to contend with, they were
bound to make it up by extra activity in every depart-
ment, and by giving greater fadlities to the public, to in-
crease their traffic rather than to reduce their charges
below a fair and reasonable remuneration for their capital.
By these means they hoped to keep the property in a
healthy and progressive state. They believed that the
first great mischief, from the effects of which they were
now suffering, was to be traced to the sanction by Par-
liament to unnecessary and competing lines. (Hear,
hear.) The Midland Company had suffered from it, for
although they had 200 more miles of railway open now
than 10 years ago, they did not receive by £l,OOO per
week the same amount of money which they received 10
years ago. (Hear, hear.) This was owing to bad legis-
lation, and a waste of the capital of the country. They
were now, however, bound to do the utmost in their
power to meet the present state of
,things, and the direc-
tors were of opinion that the nest policy for them to adopt
would be to develop their local traffic, to live in harmony
with other companies, and to promote mutual welfare, in-
stead of fighting for impracticable objects. (Hear, hear.)
And here he was bound to say that he did not consider
their property in a satisfactory condition until it paid five
per cent., as he was of opinion that as railways were a
signal success as far as the public were concerned, the
shareholders were entitled to participate to some extent
in that success. (Hear, hear.) The accounts of the com-
pany were made out carefully and honestly, and the direc-
tors lid not attempt to make the undertaking appear in a
better light than the facts would warrant. It had bean
usual at former meetings to mention in the report the '
works which it was intended to execute within the next halt
year, and to take a vote for the amount. He was, however,
happy to say that the directors had no vote to propose that
day. (Hear, hear.) Then, with regard to the increase in
the capital account the only additional works on the old
line would require an outlay of £28,000, and a further sum
of £45,000 would be required to finish the Leicester and
Hitchin line, and to ircrease the rolling stock. With
regard to the Leicester and Hitchin line the directors bad
redeemed the promise which they gave three years ago, for
the million they had asked for bad not been exceeded by two
millions, as some great authority had said ; but by £200,000,
and even that sum would not have been required if they had
not discarded wooden bridges and erected permanent works
of iron and stone. A slight excess bad also occurred in the
matter of the price given for land purchased, lent this the
directors could not control. Then, again, with regard to
enlareiog stations, the directors bad paid the whole cost
out of revenue, and had not appealed to capital at all. In
former years the charges for law and Parliamentary ex-
penses were partly charged to capital and part to revenue.
They were now wholly charged to revenue. The arbitra-
tion with reference to the carriage of mails had led to an
increase iu the legal charges; but he was happy to say
that the increased allowance which the Government gave
the Post-office under the award enabled them not only to
pay the whole of their law charges, but to carry a suns of
upwards of £2,000 to revenue. (Hear, hear.) Another
subject which bad given rise to legal expenFe3 was the
opposition of the company to the union of the East Lanca-
shire and Lancaster and Yorkshire lines, which had been
frustrated in consequence. The proprietors were no doubt
aware that the London and North-Western Company had
given them notice of their intention to terminate the
Gladstone award, so that, for the future, the Midland
Company would have to depend upon what it could get
for itself, and the directors hoped that, under all the cir-
cumstances, they would be enabled to obtain as large a
share of traffic as that which they received under the Glad-
stone award. (Hear, hear.) The board wished to keep out
of the row with the other great companies. They believed

the Midland could be a powerful friend to both, and they
hoped, under all ,contingencies, to maintain amicable rela-
tions with those :around them. With regard to the future,
the board belie ved that they saw indications of returning
prosperity to the: trade of the country. They had reason to
know that in Lends and the manufacturing districts, traffic
was decidedly it reproving, and they had the first evidence of
it in connection 'with their own line, in the fact that last week
there had been an increase in the number of passengers
carried equal t £2,000, which was a very encouraging
chcurnstance. (Hear, hear.) The chairman concluded by
stating that since the last meeting it had been his pleasing
duty to present Mr. Ellis with the portrait which then
hung in the moue (a fine picture by Mr. Lucas), and also
with the testimonial of plate which had been voted to him
for his long and valuable services. It had afforded him
great gratification to be the representative of the company
upon so interesting an occasion.
Mr. HAnnnee observed that the Midland, like other com-
panies, would ;have to look in future for success to economy
of management, and that he could not see any marked
change in that respect. The price of materials, for instance,
bad fallen very -much during the last six months, as com-
pared with the c orresponding period of 1857, and yet the
expenditure for materials and stores showed an increase on
the half-year of £1,200. At the last meeting of the
Brighton Company the chairman called attention to
the fact that a saving of £B,OOO had been effected
in the working- expenses of the last half-year, and
at this calculation the Midland Company ought to have
saved £24,000. There were also several other items of
increase, including wages, "clearing house," secretary's
office, &c., which he considered were wholly unnecessary.
He believed that there were too many trains run in certain
districts, and that the mileage receipts did not pay for the
cost of working. The company was, he understood, en-
gaged in litigation with the Great Western Company on
the subject of rents, and this was a point which called for
explanation. The capital account was also steadly increas-
ing, and £lOO,OOO had been lately added to it. The deduc-
tion from the net profits of the company for the payment
of interest on this sum was a heavy pull on the receipts.
It also struck him that the debts due to the eompiny,
amounting as they did to £217,000, were itnmode-
rately large. The company had sustained considerable
injury by the competition with the Great Northern Com-
pany, and he would like to know what that deficit was
estimated at. He understood the Lancashire and York-
shire bad lost £50,000 by the competition. The company
took great credit for having made an arrangement to run
trains from Hitchin to King's-cross, but it struck him that
every train so run would entail a loss upon the company, as
the mileage receipts were only equivalent to 3s. 2:el. per
mile, which was not sufficient to pay toll to the Great
Northern in addition to working expenses. He suggested,
therefore, that the company should book on their carriages
to the Great Northern trains at Hitchin, and not run their
own trains to King's-cross.
Mr. BATEMAN whhed to know whether there was any
separate account kept of unpaid dividends?
Mr. WILDE asked whether there was not a specific ac-
count of the rolling stock ?
A PROPRIETOR called attention to the recent meeting
of the representatives of railway companies in London, and
expressed a hope that the directors would act upon their
recommendations.
A PROPRIETOR inquired whether the claims for law and
Parliamentary expenses were paid before they were inves-
tigated ?
The CHAIRMAN said there was a law commiitee, and
that no account was passed without rigid investiga-
tion. With regard to unpaid dividends, there was a
separate account, amounting to £12,000 or £13,000
from the commencement of the company, and persons
were constantly applying for them, and of course they
were paid on application. It was quite true that
£217,000 was due to the company, but every shilling of
the amount could be realised in a few days, if necessary. It
was impossible to carry on a large carrying trade without
having a good deal of money outstanding. Mr. Hadley
appeared to think that the working expenses were too large,
and that too many persons were employed; but he could
assure him that the directors had visited every station on
the line within the last month, and had personally inquired
into the working expenses. When proprietors spoke of
want of economy and saving in materials and stores, and
contrasted the Midland with the Brighton Company, it
was necessary to remember that GO miles of additional
line were now open, and that there bad been a con-
siderable saving in coke and materials as compared
with the corresponding period of 1857. Mr. Hadley
had altogether miscalculated the mileage eat flings
of the company, which were 4s. 10d. a mile, instead
of 3s. 2:d. per mile, and so far from running too many
trellis, the complaints were that they did not run sufficient.
He was quite aware that judicious economy was necessary,
but he assured the proprietors that they must look rather
to the development of legitimate traffic than to retrench-
ments, the expediency of which were extremely doubtful.
With regard to the prospects of the line, he believed they
were never better, and that when the large mineral district
of 70 ranee by 10, of which they had the command, was de-
veloped as it would infallibly be, the Midland line would be
one of the best properties in the whole country. It was
now paying about as good a dividend as any other line in
the kingdom, and they might depend upon it there was no
reason to believe that its fortunes would decline. (Hear,
hear.) The hon. gentleman concluded by moving that the
report and accounts be received and adopted.
The motion was carried unanimously.
A dividend at the rate of 31 per cent., payable the Ist of
September, was also declared.
The usual audit committee of 25 shareholders was then
reappointed.
Mr. BARROW, M.P., observed that, in his opinion, it
would be far better if all railways could be conducted upon
he principle of acting kindly and harmoniously together
than upon that of the extreme° competition which bad
been carried on between certain railway companies during
the lest six months. He regarded the system of aggression
and annexation lately carried out as fraught with the
greatest evils to railway property, and he believed that
if such a policy were adopted it would lead to
similar embarrassments and difficulties which had
occurred in distant parts of the world. Holding
these opinions, he begged to move --"That this
meeting approves the resolutions passed at the meeting
if directors held in London, on the 10th of August, and
urges upon the directors of this company the necessity of
taking every means in their power to secure the general
assent of the railway interest to the principle there laid

down."
The Rev. Mr. Mrzrts seconded the resolution, which was
carried unanimously, amid loud applause.
The meeting was then made special, when a resolution
was proposed to authorise the company to subsczibc £35,000
to the Worcester and Hereford line.
The CHAIRMAN explained that the company by this
arrangement would get a second market for their coke, and
at the same time bring a hundred miles of the narrow gauge
AYsterri on to the Midland line.
The resolution was carried with one dissentient, and after a
vote of thanks to the chairman, the proceedings terminated.