The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-21 00:00:00

HUDSON'S BAY.

A general meeting of this company was held yesterday at
;heir house, Fenchurch-street ; Sir E. Head, the Governor,

,resided.

The report stated with regard to the ordinary trade the
the two Hudson's Bay ship, Prince Rupert and Lady Head,
had delivered safely their cargoes out and home, and had
made successful voyages. The quality of skins which they
had brought, however, fell short of that which was received
last autumn, and the deficiency was visible especially in
martens. At the same time the comparison between this
year and last was not so unfavourable as it might at
first appear, inasmuch as the returns of last year were
swelled by the accidental detention in the previous season
of the furs from Moose Factory, so that double the quan-
tity of skins from that district were included in the sales
of last spring. A third vessel, sent to the northern part
of Hudson's Bay for the purpose of wintering there and
securing their interests in the trade with the Esquimaux,
had arrived safely at Churchill. The usual interim
dividend would be paid to the shareholders in January
next. In Vancouver's Island business was depressed,
and the relations between that colony and British
Columbia remained on an unsatisfactory footing. No com-
munication on the main points at issue between the company
and her Majesty's Government had been received by the
Committee from the Colonial-office, and no offer had yet
been made on the part of the Government of Canada to pur-
chase any portion of the rights or territory of this company.
On the other hand, if any such offer was hereafter made in
connexion with the scheme of consolidating the British
Provinces in America, or on other grounds, the committee
had entered into no engagements which could fetter the dis-
cretion of the shareholders. With regard to the arbitration
pending at Washington on the claims of the company under
the Oregon treaty, they had every reason to hope that the
Government of the United States had now taken all the
evidence which it expected to obtain, and that the matter
ought to be ripe for decision. They had no doubt that the
interests of the company would ultimately be materially
benefited by the award made. At the general meeting held
in July last a resolution was adopted to the effect that a
letter should be sent to every shareholder, asking him to
answer "Yes" or " No" to the question whether the colo-
nisation of Rupert's Land should be undertaken by the
company itself. The shareholders returning answers (un-
qualified by any remark) on one side of the question, re-
presented more than hall the existing capital of the com-
pany. From the statement prepared by Mr. T. Fraser, the
secretary, it appeared that the number of shareholders to
whom the circular was sent was 1,493, and they received
answers from 637. Of this number 122 voters, holding
£106,160 stock in the company, had voted in the affirma-
tive ; while 496 voters, holding £1,078,840 stock of the
company. had voted in the negative. The result was,
therefore, that the proposition for commencing the colonisa-
tion was negatived by shareholders representing morethan
one half the capital of the company.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said he had nothing to add to it, as affairs were exactly as
stated in the report. They would probably soon know
whether any offer was to be made to the company. The
committee had not pledged themselves in any way ; so that
the shareholders would have to decide on any
important
question that might be submitted.
Sir C. M. LAMPSON, Deputy-Governor, seconded the
motion for the adoption of the report, which was agreed-to
unanimously. and Mr.
The retiring auditors, Mr. E. W. Watkin, AL•P''
Quilter, were re-elected.
Mr. WATKIN said the establishment of telegraphic com-
munication in their territory would be
being extended
the company and also to the public, by
great value to
lhe compan:: had
across British territory to the Pachifi
had the materials for the telegraP
of the company. He
in' their possession for
three years at the various stations
mentioned that the American toenegraph to San Francisco
year, and he estimated
had paid for its capital cost.
that their telegraph would,
t would not be e-
ifincompleted, pay on its cost 20
per cent. per annum•
• h in connection with the
fore they had a filet ehl
gp adp
right across British territory to the
Atlantic telegrapihine.
ed that their wintering partners in
portion to be represented by a cer-
tPhaecitfiercr.itoUrye sinhaoiunitrlniave an interest in the amount of divi-
pro
Ho also suggested that the com-
mitteedend declared ; the
tain number of shares.
right of banking
should develop° the company's
over the Hudson s Bay territory • and all those things pro-
',
perly carried out would tend to increase the sum available
for dividend.
The ORAutuas said the whole of those matte's had often
been considered by the committee. The reason the tele-
graph had not been laid was that it would be useless across
the territory if it were not extended east and west of it.
They must have some terms or pledge in the interests of
the shareholders from the Canadian and British Govern-
ments that the necessary outlay should be remunerative,
and that the 700 or 800 miles of telegraph to the coasts of
the Atlantic and Pacific would be completed to join the
Hudson's Bay line. This formed part of the general sub-
ject now before the Government in connection with the
whole question. There was a legal difficulty in making
the chief factors and chief traders interested in the com-
pany's dividends. The bank could no doubt be turned to
good account if the pending matters were settled.
The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
Governor, Deputy-Governor, and committee for their
prudent and able management of the company's affairs.

The eruption of cholera in October, partly duo to the
sanitary defects of Woolwich and Lower Charlton, is sub-
siding ; and the small houses of Lower Charlton are now
supplied with a system of drains.
Thirty-two persons died of cholera, 22 of diarrhoea in
the week. The decline of the disease is decisive; and with
due vigilance in London it will before long be extinguished
in the epidemic form. The deaths from cholera in the last
five weeks were 144, 112, 73, 67, and 32 among more than
3,000,000 people.
Dr. Frankland has investigated some of the physical
properties of cholera stuff (cholrine) ; he has shown that
it passes through filtering paper, and that water containing
1-500th part of the matter is not entirely, purified by
transmission through animal charcoal. Whether the pro-
perties of the remaining molecules or organisms undergo
any change in the filtering process, depriving them of their
zymotic character, has not been determined. The inves-
tigation proves the importance of destroying all the do-
jections by disinfectants, and of drawing water from
sources free from contamination.
The annual rate of mortality last week was 24 per 1,000
in London, 28 in Edinburgh, and 37 in Dublin ; 20 in Bris-
tol, 20 in Birmingham, 29 in Liverpool, 30 in Manchester,
29 in Saiford, 25 in Sheffield, 28 in Leeds, 19 in Hull, 37 M
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and 31 in Glasgow. The rate in
Vienna was 37 Per 1,000 during the week ending the 3d
inst., when the temperature was 1.7 deg. Fahrenheit lower
than in the same week to London, where the rate was 24
per i,ooff.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean height
of the barometer in the week was 29-6931 n. The barome-
trical reading increased from 29-06 in. on Friday to 30.181 n.
by the end of the week. The mean temperature of the air in
the week was 45.6 deg., which is 24 deg. above the average
of the same week in 50 years, as determined by Mr. Glaisher.
The highest day temperature was 58.5 deg., on Tuesday.
The lowest night temperature was 30.8 deg., on Saturday.
The entire range of temperature in the week was therefore
271 deg. The mean of the highest temperature of the
water of the Thames was 48.5 deg.; that of the lowest was
46.5 deg. The difference between the moan dew point tem-
perature and air temperature was 54 deg. The mean de-
gree of humidity of the air was 82, complete saturation
being represented by 100. Rain fell during the week to the
amount of• 0.58 in. At Manchester the rainfall on Thursday
amounted to 1.24 in., and on Friday to 0-89 in., at Eccles on
Thursday to 1.39 in., and on Friday to 0-75 in. The river
Irwell rose on Friday 25ft. above its ordinary level. An
extraordinary shower of very brilliant meteors occurred
during the early morning hours of Wednesday; fully 10,000
meteors were seen at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
According to a return furnished by the engineer of the
Metropolitan Board of Works the average daily quantity
of sewage pumped into the river Thames et the southern
outfall works, Crossness, was 197,542 metric tons.