The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-02 00:00:00

PETOVIA-ON-THE-SEA.

(From the Railway Times.)
Who can or will throw oil on the troulThd waters?
Mr. Abel records, in our columns of to-day, a pro-
test against the proceedings of the investigation
committee which authenticates the charges and sup-
ports the conduct of Mr. Godson. It seems to have
been felt, however, even at the commencement of
the inqUiry, that these two gentlemen would not
flutee d in their endeavours to probe. the system of
past management, nor be able to speak out with
that force and distinctness which a free and inde-
pendent inquiry should elicit.
It will now be ob-erved, without our pointedly
calling public attention to the fa:,t, that more than
one curiosity attends the leasing of the company's
boats to the Tilbury and Southend. True, the
price paid is to be exactly that which was extorted
from the Eastern Counties ; but it is not likely to
be forgotten, that, at the time the Eastern Coun-
ties hired these vese's, Mr. Waddington rowed in
the same boat with Sir S. M. Peto. Nor can it be
overlooked, while remembering that the chairman
of the Steam Navigation is lessee of the Tilbury,
that such contracts, even when at fair prices, ate
not looked upon favourably by the law. it may be
that the chairman of the Victoria Docks is beirter
fitted to inquire into the conduct of his own tenant
than either Mr. Abel or Mr. Godson, who are no-
thing more than shareholders. But it can scarczly
be asserted that Mr. Lawrance, who enjoys the re-
putation, if not the credit, of being the money-
broker of Sir M. Peto, or that Mr. Young, who
contracts for certain freights to Denm trk, as well
as being with Mr. Lawrance intricately intimate
with the concerns of the Royal Danish, are ttte
mot disinterested colleagues which Mr. Morrison
could obtain. At all events, a whitewashing from
persons so delicately interested in sustaining the
financial dignity of their chief iy not quite so effi-
cacious as it might have been had the only two in-
depend,nt members of the committee added their
signatures to the report. Though stubborn, these
gen:lemen, let it be adde,l, are not vindictive ;
they hope, although 'the North of Europe has been
to them a ruinous undertaking, that it has bean at
least useful in making up the imperative dividend
for the more fortunate proprietors in the three com-
panies of which their chai,man is lessee. But, per-
haps, even in this charitable conclusion they may
be disapp doted. The secret cannot always remain
undiscovered.

NORTH OF EUIWPE STEAD? N.AVIGA-

TION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE RAILWAY TIMES.
Sir' —I am induced on account of the importance
of the principles involved iu the question of the
investigation of the affairs of public companies by
committees of shareholders, to address to you a few
observations upon the results obtained by this coin-
mittee during its protracted sittings and inquiries
into the past management of the above-named corn
pany, for which I hope you will be able to find
room in the Railway Tim's ; more especially do I
request this of you from the circumstance of there
having occurred, in the report of the proceedings at
the adjourned meeting on Thursday last, several
inaccuracies, of interest to the shareholders, and of
importance as bearing upon the question of coin-
m.ttees of investigation and of committees co-ope-

rating with boards of directors.
Allow me, then, first to correct the statement
which I saw in one of tha papers, that the company
bad incurred a loss by tr ding, to 30th J nne last, of

60,120/. The actual-amount of loss, as appears in
the report of the committee, was upwards of 4,0001. ;
neverth -less, it is quite true that a divilend of 8
per cent was declared and distribtited to the pro-
pr etors at that date. This sum of 60,1201. the' e•
fora shows the loss of the company for the whole
and not for the half-year of 1856.
Again, with reference to the selling of their shares
by &lectors, whilst all this mischief' was realising.
I am represented at the meeting as defending 'h i
board from this charge and from the suspicion that
they knew very well what was going on, a, illus-
trated by such a course of precee&ng. lam sorry
to say that I did not, because I could not, defend
the board from the imputation—althow2h I was
very happy on being appealed to, both by Sir M.
Peto and Mr. Baghawe, to exclude both those gen-
tlemen from the harge. The fact is, that whilst in
1856, some of the directors were getting out of the
inc
ephaanrye
hael II odge er te
,h eert,h ae tr the expense ptehnes
me orfe tdhaec
erdemt
ha inei r-
holding in the aggregate from 800 to 275 shares ;
and this fact, which I thought of peculiar siguifi
canes as heating upon the question of ignorance or
instinct, I insisted was one to be made known to
the proprietors in our report.
And now with reference to what fell from Mr.

Godson at the meeting. Although I was not at all
surprised at the impatience manifested at the ex-
cessive tediousness of his statements, and would
also express my opinion that the first step of that
gentleman in parting with his shares, previous to
his appointment to serve on the committee, was a
false one, and one which effectually excluded from
consideration his claim to readmission to the corn-
mitt** on his repurchase of shares with that object,
I would, nevertheless, do him the justice to say,
that there was much, very much,, in his observa-
tions entitled to the grave consideration of the pro-
prietors, and which it was far easier for partisan-
ship to cry down than to answer.
Mr. Godson imputed great blame to the chair-
man of the company fer putting forth statements
without proper foundaton, and which with refer-
ence to the mysrer ions letter from Mr. Coleman, of
the 18th Oct., were positively false. And so do I ;
for I am utterly unable to reconcile the statement
of Sir M. Peto that, " not one of their ships arrived
without the figures of the freights and the estimate
of the expenses being laid before him," with the
declaration of a dividend of 13,3421. upon the losses
detailed in the report of the committee. To any man
of plain intentions, the cheering of personal friends,
to be succeeded by the farce of a vote of teanks for
his explanatous, cannot weigh for a moment
against so palpable a mystification as this.
Mr. Godson further stated that the books were
Rot in a proper state for examination by the com-
mittee. The report of the committee says the same
thing ; but Mr. Coleman, the company's account
ant, indignantly denied Mr. Godson's assertion. I
must say I entirely'agree with Mr. Godson on this
point also, and should likevery much to he informed,
with reference to the accounts of this c. tmpany,
audited by a public account tnt—of what use is such
an officer as a protection to the public, when it
appears from his own admission, that Mr. Coleman
sanctioned the payment of a dividend upon insuffi-
cient information relating to a portion only of the
company's business; and which wa. in f ct the only
profi able portion 1 I would further ask, was it or
not one of the functions of a public ac out tint,
io passing accounts, to take care of the question
of a depreciation fund ? for th's was a vital one as
affecting the value of shares in public market.
Another question arises in the ace -.unts for trans-
port service in 1855. It appeals that these accounts
were charged short the sum of 9,1331. 16s. 10d. for
extraordinary repairs. How was this ? And be-
sides, it should be observed that in the accounts,
both of 1855 and 1856, the whole receipts of the
company for trading and for Government trees-
ports, are presented in one sum, so as, and as if,
effectually to screen from the shareholders the
actual results of each, and conseqiien ly the legi-
timate prospects of the company. Was this purely
accidental ? These are very important considera-
tions, and concern the welfare of public companies
intimately ; and before closing this part of the sub-
ject, I will relate an incident which occurred in
committee, which throws light upon the subject of
so:founts presented to shareholders in joint-stock
companies, and it is particularly illustrative of the
system pursued by our own comp Any.
When I withdrew from the committee, our re-
port was nearly ready for issue. At that moment
the accounts to June 30, 1856, as furnished by Mr.
Coleman, presented a profit of 1,700/. ; but having
casually recollected a remark which fell from that
gentleman at, a former sitting of the committee, I
called for an explanation,. and thus, I believe, was
saved to the preprietors an error amounting, in the
account about to issue, of not less than 5,7001. I
am, therefore, tempted again to ask—of what use
to the security of a company is the office of a
public accountant ; or, was this oversight, and
all other " unfortunate errors," to be laid at
the doer of Captain Andrews, as the more con-
venient mode of disposing of them 1 There were
some other facts of interest to the shareholders,
which I could have wished had been found in the
report. I cannot do more than glance at them.
The losses of the company last year, in connexion
with the Royal Danish Railway alone, amounted
to no less than 18,800/.
Of the 27 ships belonging to the company, only
7 were employed at a profit ; but yet of these 27'
ships, five new -vessels were built, to accumulate
the amount of our losses • and during the three
years 1853, 1854, and 1855, the total plat of the
cammercial trading of the company upon a paid-up
capital of 300,0001., amounted only to an average
profit of about 1,687/. per annum, or about 9s. 6d.
per cent., whilst the last two calls were made, and
were paid by the shareholders, under the impres-
sion and in reliance upon Sir M. Peto's word, that
the company was highly prosperous.
Our chairman is lessee of the Royal Danish, the
Tilbury, and of the 'Victoria Dock, to the proprie-
tors of which I believe he guarantees a fixed divi-
dend of 6 per cent. Now, although the North of
Europe Company has been to us a ruinous under-
taking, yet let us hope that it has been at least use-
ful in making up the imperative divident km the