The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-27 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE.—March 26.

VICE-CHANCELLOR'S COURT.
' (Before Vice-Chancellor Sir P. Wood.)
THE EAST ANOLIAN RAILWAY COMPANY V. GOODWIN.
Sir R. Bethell was heard in reply iu this case, which Las
occupied the Co art Ix several days, and of which the general
outline has been already stated in The Sun.

The Vice-Chancellor aid that he could not part with the
ca o satisfactorily until he h”d Messrs. Lacy and Everard,
two of th directors previous to the amalgamation, broug t
before him for viva voce examination in respect of certain
share transactions. It would be desirable that an early day
should be fixed for the attendance of these gen,lemen.

RENDALL V. THE CRYSTAL PALACE COMPANY.

This cause came ou by way of demurrer to a bill by a
sharJholder in the corn, any, for the purpose of restraining
the directors from accepting the surrender of shares in ex-
change for tickets of admission, ou the terms specified in an
advertisement of the 17th of February, 1858, and from Li.-
suing any tickets of admission on such terms, and from ad-
mitting any persons to the building or grounds on the
Lords-day, in consideration of any money payment, whether
made directly or indirectly. By the charter of the company,
bearing date the 28th of January, 1853, it was dec!a-ei that
the chxrter was granted on condition that no person should
be admitted to t. e said building or grounds on the Lord's-
day, in co sideration of a,y money payment, whether made
diree, ly or intlinetly, unless the express sanction of the
Legislature should have been obtain d for admission on
such cons•deration, and then only for the time warranted
by the act of Parliament. By the Cry tal Palace Com-
pany's Act, 1856, the directors were empowered to ogre)
with shareholders for the conversion of shares or stock
into a ticket of admission to the building and grounds of the
company, for the proprietors or their nominees, either for
life or such term of years as might be determined on. The
- et also provided, that nothing therein contained should alter
or invalidate the charter, or relieve the company from any
,1 covenants or conditions contained therein, except so NI- as
the charter was expressly varied by this Act. The question
of tit • advisability of op wing the gardens and grounds to the
shareholders ,11 Sunday afternoons was Loin time to time
much discussed, and on the 7th of December, 1857 the direc-
tors issued a report recommending the conversion of the ordi-
nary and preference shares into tickets, entitling the prop io-
tors of such shares to a cer ain number of gratuitous admis-
sions to th:t palace and grounds on all ordinary shilling days
upon certain terms as to their use, 60 admissions being adopted
as the number in exchange for an ordinary share and 120 for
a preference share. As to admission on Sundays, the direc-
tors recommended that a resolution of the Board be passed
authorising admission by these t ckets to the l Waco and
grounds on Sunday afternoons after 1 30 as a gratuitous pri-
vilege and without any money payment to be made directly
or indirectly to the company for such privilege, the number
of persons admitted by each ticket being, however, two ded
upon it A resolution in accordance with the directors' re-
port was passed at an extraordinary general meeting of the
shareholders on the 7th of December, 1857. An advertise-
ment was published in the Tinto inviting applications to the
directors for the surrender of shares in the company in ex-
change for tickets of admission upon the terms already speci-
fied. The plaintiff, who had protested against the resolution
authorising admission to the grounds ou Sunday afternoon;,
had filed a bill against the directors, on behalf of himself
and all other shareholders who should come in and
contribute, to restrain the issue of tickets upon these
terms, alleging that the proposed admission on Sunday
afternoons would occasion a forfeiture of the charter, and
that money would be received by the company both
dieectly and indirectly in respect of these tickets, as
well from the fee of 2s. 6d. to be paid on the surrender of each
share as from the amngements with the London and Brighton
Railway Company, and otherwise.
Tho company had demurred to the bill.
Mr. W. M. James and Mr. Hemming, in support of the de-
murrer, contended that neither dire tly nor indirect'', would
money b • paid in respect of the Sandy afternoon admissions,
which were to be confined to the shareholders and their
friends. The condi ion in the charter mast be construed
strictly. It was intended to restrain the use of the palace and
grounds as a place of public entertainment ou Sundays, but
not to prevent the proprietors from availing themselves of
their property iu the same manner as the Fellows of the
Zoological and Botanical Societies. With respect to indirect
money payments, the statute 21 George 111., c. 49, against
pr fanation of the Lord's day, sufficiently specified what
might amount to an indirect paymeht for admission, and this
statute was clearly imported into the charter and governed
its application.

The Solicitor-General and ➢ir. Busk, fur the plaintiff, were
not called on.

The Vice-Ch.meellor said that the demurrer could not be
sustained. Had he entertained any doubt on the question of
construction, he might have availed himself of the assistance
of a common law judge. The case turned simply on the charter
of the company, which expressly prov.ded " that no person
should be admitted to the said building or grounds on the
Lord's day, in considera'iou of any money payment, direct or
indirect, unless the express ranctiou of the Legislature should
have been obtained," &c. It did'not even reserve to the Grown
the power of relaxing the prohibition, and ho could not accede
to the argument that the charter was to be tat en as simply
importing the proviaons of the Act 21st George 111 , cap. 49.
For this reason the cases cited as to places of public entertain-
ment did not apply. The charter was to be forfeited upon the
admission of any one person by payment in money, whether
directly or indirectly made. Suppose the directors had had
the power to buy up shares, and they had offered to purchase
the shares on the terms and for the consideration of giving
to the proprietor aud his nominees admissions on so many
Sundays, this would have been clearly within the prohibitory
condition of the charter, as the receiving indirectly a money
payment for the privilege of that admission. It was true a
share waa not money, but it was money's worth---an article
value, saleable in the market at a certain price, and conferring
the right to the dividend, &c. It would be a very narrow
construction indeed to hold that money or money payment
must be actual cash, Linder the act of 1856 power was ob-
tained for the conversion of shares into life admissions. It
was said that the directors would be entitled under this act
to extend the admission to Sundays, but there was an express
proviso agai st any coudit on in the charter being thereby
altered or inv .Hlated. All that was enacted was, that shares
should be convertel into tickets of admi sion, which meant
ordinary existing tickets of admission, applying only to days
upon which admission was not prohibited. There was no re-
lease from th conditions imposed by the charter in that re-
spect. Parting with a share which was a valuable property for
a ticket of admission upon the terms proposed was in effect
procuring a ticket for admission on Sundays in consideration
of money paid indirectly to the company. The company were
not authorised to issue tickets of admission on these terms,
and the demurrer must be overruled. The injunction sought
by the bill and nitice of motion would be granted, restraining
the defendants from issuing tickots so as to admit, persons to
the grollnrls on the Lord's-thy, in consideration of any money ,
payment, directly or indirectly.

Onr obituary recorded iast week the death of Si,
John Montagu Burgoyne, Bart., late Colonel of th
Films of our contemporarie
Grenadier Guard.,' whom
Have mistaken for General Sir John Fox Burgoyne,
G. 0.8,, of the Rwal Entoneers. We are happy to say
that this latter (theca., whose cervices extend from the
landing in Egypt under Abtrcromby to the siege o
EeLastopol, is still in the enjoyment of unbroken health