The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-06 00:00:00

J?AILWAY S AND PUBLIC COMPANIES.

RED SEA AND INDIA TELEGRAPH.

A special general meeting of this company was
held yesterday at the London Tavern for the purpose
of considering a proposal received by the Board
from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury for
the transfer of the line and property of the company
to her Majesty's Government ; Mr. Marshman in
the chair.

Mr. C. L. Peel, the secretary, having read the
notice convening the meeting,
The CHAIRMAN said the object of the meeting
was fully stated in the notice. The directors had
been endeavouring to obtain from the Government
some arrangement for the repair of the line, but the
Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury had
not deemed it expedient to grant any further gua-
rantee for that purpose. Some weeks ago it was
proposed to form a new company for the purpose
of raising sufficient capital to repair the whole of
the line, and render it of service to the public, A
communication to this effect was immediately sent
to the Lords of the Treasury, which resulted in a
proposal to the effect that her Majesty's Govern_
ment was disposed to exercise the right of taking
over the line from the company, and of repaying
the whole of the capital to the shareholders. The
directors stated in reply that they had reason to
believe that the shareholders would be equally
satisfied with having an annuity of 41 per cent.
secured to them, payable at the Bank of England.
To this proposal the Lords of the Treasury gave
their consent, and expressed their willingness to
take the line and relieve the directors from their
responsibility. He then read the following letter,
which was addressed to the directors by the Secre-
tary to the Treasury
" Treasury Chambers, Oct. 15,1861.
"Gentlemen,—The Lords Commissioners of her
:Majesty's Treasury have had before them your letter
of the 9th inst., and I am desired by their lordships
to state to you in reply that they have given the
best consideration to the proposition of Sir Mac-
donald Stephenson of which the shortness of the
time since the receipt of your letter would allow,
and are prepared to agree to the following terms :
" 1. To divest the existing company of all further
responsibility in respect to the affairs of the Red
Sea and India Telegraph, with a view to transfer-
ring the entire concern to the hands of a new com-
pany, on suitable terms and conditions, should any
such company be formed with an amount of capital
sufficient to justify a reasonable hope of the success
of its object.
" 2. To convert the present guarantee into a Go-
vernment annuity of like amount, payable at the
Bank of England, as in the case of other Govern-
ment annuities.

" It would follow from this conversion that all
expenses of disbursements would be defrayed by the
Government.

" 3. To reserve power to the Government to re-
deem this annuity at any time hereafter, on pay-
ment of a capital sum in proportion to the unexpired
period which the annuity may then have to run.
" Your Board is, of course, aware that no final
step can be taken in such a matter without the ap-
proval of Parliament, but my Lords undertake, on
the part of her Majesty's Government, in the event
of such new company being established, to have a
bill introduced into Parliament early in the ensuing
scission for carrying into effect the foregoing terms.
" Their Lordships abstain on the present occasion
from entering into details connected with the pro-
ceedings of the new company, leaving them for
future discussion and arrangement —I am, &c.,
" G. A. HAMILTON_"

On reading this letter the directors thought the
third clause rather obscure, but might be agreed to
with the understanding that a full and fair equi-
valent should be given to the shareholders in case
the Government should exercise their option of
redeeming the annuity. Several large share.
holders objected to the third clause, and eventu-
ally a deputation from the directors had an inter-
view with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the
subject, and some days after there was a meeting
of the largest shareholders, and it seemed to be
the general opinion that the proprietors should
accept ,the annuity, with the understanding that
the sum to be paid them in case of redemption
should be sufficient to enable them to purchase a
Government annuity of equal value. Upon this
point there was no difference of opinion between
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the directors
that a full and 'fair equivalent should be given to
the proprietors, and that they should not suffer the
slightest disadvantage at any future time by the
redemption of the annuity. The details, would, of
course, be left to the directors. He concluded by
moving the following resolution :—" Resolved, that
the proposition mentioned in the letter addressed by
the Secretary of the Treasury to the directors of the
Red Sea Telegraph Company on Oct. 15th last be
and is hereby accepted, on the understanding that
it be made clear in the agreement with the Govern-
ment that the intention of clause 3 in the proposal
is that, in the event of the Government deciding to
redeem the annuity, they shall pay a capital sum
which will be-sufficient to purchase a Government
annuity of L 4 10s. per cent. per annum on each
£lOO of the stock or capital of the company for the
unexpired residue of the term."
Mr. DENT, a director, seconded the motion. He
said the proposal had been fully discussed by the
directors ; they considered that nothing but a Go-
vernment annuity could be equal to a Government
annuity, and the board of directors unanimously re-
commended the adoption of that resolution.
A discussion then ensued, in which Mr. A. Eames,
Mr. T. K. Cleghorn, Mr. Skinner, and other share-
holders took part, in the course of which the resolu-
tion was adopted, there being only two dissentients.
The CHAIRMAN then moved the following resolu-
tion :—" Resolved, that the directors be, and they
are hereby authorised to take all necessary mea-
sures for carrying the arrangement into effect."
Mr. DENT seconded the motion, and it was car-
ried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN said that Sir Macdonald Stephen-
son, the chairman of the new company, namely, the
Telegraph to India Company, wished to address the
meeting.

Sir M. STEPIIENSON said he hoped they would
permit him to congratulate them upon their deci-
sion to accept the Government proposals, with the
interpretation of the only point on which any doubt
could arise sufficiently defined to prevent possible
future misapprehension. He would make a few
observations on the subject of the new company,
which he hoped and believed would not be entirely
without interest, the more especially as the carry-
ing out of the new company was one and an essen-
tial condition in the Government arrangement.
Telegraphic communication between Great Britain
and her vast dependencies in the East had long
been an acknowledged and imperative necessity,
and corresponding
been exertions had from time to time
made to
attended any it.
Immediate success
rarely
It was a giadual great innovating enterprise.
and progressive operation, attained
only after repealed failures had furnished the ex-
perience uponwhich ultimate
greater the success could be
hoped for. The
undertaking the greater
the difficulties usually encountered and the greater
should be the resolution and Perseverance
to overcome them. It was noottw exercised
the thought, language, and action
o?eery, it was
every Eng-
lishman under the same cireutnstaneee. It must
only be the right thing to be done, and it he r
ne
time, trouble, nor money would be spared to ttce
plish it. The telegraph to India would not
require
any illustration to demonstrate its value to an
classes. Additional lines would assuredly be re-
quired within a few months of the restoration of
the first. One merchant assured him that he should
have saved £50,000 if he could have sent a single
message. The Peninsular and Oriental Company's
reports of their ships were of hourly necessity.
The use of the telegraph was universally admitted,
and it was to its completion that their attention
was now needed. The false position in which the
old company was placed by the late Attorney-Gene-
ral had nearly destroyed the prospects of telegraphic
communication with the East for, perhaps, years to
come, but for the earnest and active interference of
those who had exerted themselves so effectually
to remove the erroneous impression of the insu-
perable difficulties in the way, and to show that, by
the adoption of proper means and precautions, the
ce'etarluilll'ati
on might be restored, while the parties
w srsbavked.
the alteTtativeln the new enterprise were secured
successful, or yery high rate of dividend if
cue
er failure.
,rrherersement of their outlay in
liberal terms conceded by the