The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-25 00:00:00

ln the
jL -e n SHAREHOLDERS of the YORK,
%mesae' w CASTLE, and BERWICK RAILWAY COMProinY:
Ny ah,;?n,—So long as the questions existing
nals. of
We esa'ea
ealleelf were Pestling for decision by tee
patient
sub ,
Letw,centrithbue
eion
to tee aneefialefoelt that( had no alternative but
Zolo eeeinneilise aet on me, and that I must wait till the trans-
le diseuzserl eto these questions could. be calmly a The
aVestnens ",,e(1, end a judicial decision pronounced upon them.
and impar-
14tter h Waleh has now been come to for the settlement of those
etlktteesbirtng rendered such a diacus ion a
erkeedie , may be pennitted to me i:o remarks
en the
maknedasfueewha decision 1
Welch _ raga Which have been instituted against me, and on those
2,4 "lave been threatened
ketStha a PaTeeaatedittl!Sactually taken against me had relation to shares
*aurae eta heat Junction Railway, and in the Newcastle and
hoarse to ta ey. The ocings contemplated had reference to
e tee 0 ee Stuiderland Docks(beyond the 3,000 shares sanctioned
by the
Cl)m-Plety'raPanY), and to a quantity of iron rails purchasedekte, tee
At a public
, I,l"iine oiithe
Cott the lirandling Junction shares.
' qty thata PanY, held on the 4th of February,
opposition
se au, these shares should be given to toe. .No
1545,A it was
4tiediatiiii, altaatet,he propositionresolution was accordingly
iiiteile,samer:tanut spares to the disposal of the Director% with the
see e', Presented to " the
4415—‘tItY or them accordingly se disposed of;
part of every one present that they
o me. They were
, ace ern were tubsequentlyiven by me to partiesw Oils!
ate tor- beet' valuable to the Company. It Is, of course, on of
eat re, to
re
toe holders count the services ve hich in the op ..
fea q the were so important as to render such nan applies-
. veva:lees d shouldmay remark, that I cermetr-
;'the di eoeredit attach to me for receiving shares placed
leitiaealPoervreili_of tlie Directors, with the expressed intention o
. I
eeee Previously rendered, and then thought to have been
kile tablea4 eeesr inaagined that four years afterwards the
me
Company
teWhieh that of •a mere techilical character as to thetiner
eet ease e intentions had been carried out. I had considered, ai heel" ettareholder would have felt himself called upon to sustain
if cel of the
lee tealt to tk Public meeting of the Compan. Berwick
a h— char e shares in the Newcastle and
eßnailway I
They
test ori,aeme be equally free from doubt or quefu. .'
eee do ea m
the sub-
in the Company of which I was the originator -
iteeta,
raltSratteted the number for which I had executed p
__-
lal'i the act act—theY Were the shares for which, before theas._
ptil name , ' , Parliament for the formation of the Company,corn I.
to to teeY;tielf responsible, and which I ceuld have been
ay
di.
e4thad et; had a loss resulted: My getting them, in no
Iliettholdsa number to which it had been publicly etated thwo other
It, reetae_esiere to bd entitled, and which shares every one of
sseatloa eeei It occurred not, therefore, to me that. by re in, *refs
ohil *flares it would be imputed to me that I violated a .
Itaitsh I getetlian; and I cannot but perceive that had the shares
Sop', iltivre"L'Yed renlained in the coffers of the Company,.ai_
1,„, 110..eeell far more easy for the Committee of In l
the: tpgu r-
le of etaase" retoreniend the adoption of measures
riti°"lll e.-"ng ale peaake them up, than they havlernforennspdeeitt
eat te e had me to account for the proceeds of shares i
sate, e_ ein
all the responsibility. I will not enlarge
estil tea eeererfee • - ntered, nor will
ee el eeti tee opposition which was eneou
litaftellat 'tanner in which, and the sacrifices by whicheunder
ill7srA 11411-4411 bY my unceasing exertions, the Newstie and
pissed
til'eelaa irkaY Bin was carried through Parliament : whend
to the el
Velbollr I had undergone—the anxiety I had 4t''''et 4 had • - identical subscription
Ito /to edit Made. I executed thesuffered.
he hot e_ ele the names of the other shareholders were affixed.;
faerahteellsidered that my right was defined by that contract.
liter' b
Vmete t"ateahin dented to me, and formed the second branch of
sees„ espeet , , I have been involved. ta .oitee a eo tlie Sunderland Docks I may remark, that tv„hietliri ae• we or
.* projeetod before I had any connexion whatever
i,
Thi-
aa'aeeee, tioeee elerland : that their completion was of essen tai
e4tly, aoLuleerely to the town of Sunderland, but to the railwayw_tii
the tkers ",Shla as it tees all the lines of communication i lettleleeme
_it is unnecessary for me' to point out howmutal
Iliti- eed ire " likelY to be benefited by the formation of
and
teet reveal, e_xtera to which their traffic will be extended an
W 11,041104 rteanttied by their' construction, as these eon-
tt,ets.. leeethe pricent themselves to the minds of every one.
I subscribed 2,5001.
, "40, teeseee'd connected with Sunderland
~
that being
"le '' peal, Gas on my individual account,
)4'
i..
' MY
cannel. with the town seemed to render
te,,tt she tjteilwaY connexion
subseribed fr 3,oosares. In the
Iliel'e elle e" sit
4 Seth etie appeared evident top me that to ensure their
, as r, 'se co calcp a further interest muet be taken by
I a 'ante taPally, and it seemed also that it was the true policy
la t ltee ahY to en,
11 ee' Co, ourage the rapid completion of the works, for
iese tee htY or 'Pane' . the increasedspares traffic on their line afforded
, +le endent of any dividend to be rec
b., t 4 (h5'44.10,W, in the docks, In this I did not rely on my own
Lel.,,e':illne'th"ltatsriasulted two. of the D irectors, present with me at
e 2,3,5 eP eve took had their entire concurrence. The pur-
ee elld t additlonal
Ste,t'etot, he sea shares was the result of these delibere-
to` ofai et the p r„es Were registered in the names of three
eke 'rect `aowaY Company. To me there was no pre,ss
Is a tele to r Illetrect benefl ; mr colleagues and myself had
tete qttiled tile interests of the Company. In this it is net.
iti
4_ that we '
e lasei;e be atio„ exceeded the legal authority reposed in us ,
ettle es as emee‘ ce to say that we had acted in this way in
ee'l et eu evoided' „nen WO considered it important that delay
the of ler ---, arliamentary eanction no doubt was requisite, le, Nee leter e
ale be tge, ases was obtained—the result being that
,had
a) tsar,
~11' arrangemeats were carried through,
'et sellteer ee'ratik from to suming this deseripti n of respone-
which eha.el
isti°etoat,t,liatti,°ll4l(l have been effected at . all. The purchases of
aet at, rereatt ares.would have been legalised had not the appelwi-
tpe eft Naas elit for that purpose been postponed, with a rm..
•e:htae ,e'e,bY ernbeacing other objects in the same aptliee..
tie ih'apaea toe circumstances under which it is that the R il
e!etheYellele nice refined to recognise these additional shares and
aesete,eetepea aceoe mutable for them, and this too, at t re
'at
eel Shares Yeeeve ratified the purchase of some West Durhamt_e
51.;i4i.lealet " ilitathkoenritybythineein a similar manner, and with h
eery* Le, ,41Yallta e ' only
to retain these latter
her ea b
eady
6,,. g ous
forthe
eybeing that it has now
SeY tearaelt Seereking, the responsibility in respect ofathhesse_Seusno-
e aola/ie. king, may perhaps be cast upon me, but, if a ih bow,
elle ieelee tjaar must feel that I have been guilty of no dis en -
eta ~,Netel,as IllY position is a hard one.
'''
a;PII'd-Vtrle the circumstances under which the iroilneertallesf
hte'h les,NFat ea 'a
Railway Company. the only other shoe
1844
Ite7 ate was love an
In the month of Oct° •I't . a ' Vera eetssfle ee In Price, I thought a speculation in mile smear
Via ll
*rel'areell'ortl made a contracton for a large
.quantity with
latitd, f(.4frered ON Forman, of London. Shares in this specula-
t.a°4 teeing tat Y nle to several private friends,.all of whosmeedne:
rea`"eined willieg to incur the chance of loss, and the P
haN, aallettlin,? Tien : at this period the Newcastle and Berwick__
te:at lad 1, like del sot exist. The price of iron afterwards
eada..
(c,'lttl Rork'
~. fly other an wes surely entitled to toe
},,,,, leht bey,tre aee,„alY own i 'I
"the month of March, 1845,
eiso ei itedeeeeely invitedrafno. thne suppof iron rails to your
0i'4,1 lelin the la". were aecordirngly made by
?iPte.,'„ebtaielewl
tirade,including Messrs. Thompson and For-
some of the first
'leteea,
of queeeseet , cntract at the
the
price of the day. They
ati:,!te the, thore-e.e'tq comprehended in their contract, partly by
reeeefLY hele7n rails, and partly by the delivery of the rails
44'40115 Pre Yt MY account. This transaction is complained o 01,leela e eht4licirtety more legality I never entertained any
a `4lllsekleely nett no than the market price for my, own
4411 f the
ete el or te rate which Messrs. Thompson and Ferman
a Set ? by ueirs. If not one single tot had been
is Ne kee", What would have been the consee:
,1 the "s. Thompson
N, PAh, , 111,0, and Forman would haves cl
tie' the'reta4c ptliquant.ity out of their own stock, and the
al he •I w Pi eeisely the price for the iron which it has
, te, Y, f 0 es in n
~ It e r 0 Way benefited by the traacti whit the
Seek,' lie do "'e have procured from other parties the sameto
iteetteeY of eailbt said that it was illegal in me to supply iron
tai hea Bestialll I Was a director • but Ido not believe that even
Brea" se do, iion could be held'invalid, for all that the Leg's-
-4 tt. rtet Witet:',,t° V4cato tho office of a director ceneerned in
~',d a r Paalat ote Company. My case, however, occurred beforei
At'sta ti,l'avi sh,Tt wits passed, audits preoisions, therefore mod -
ileltigitritTeett-evwn cue two be; have clearlyno
amei leasioes eroas-
ekst4
rtet it It n should exPlainwhy
-ea A
ipay a
It of
fessary that Ii
e,i,s4t4tts,z, 44,1tellayitated Company. When these
I have
st ea that ilicatio' imen°bnineY:l
counsel, by whom I
that . Sao, at no 1 n, to most eminent
tttend Ll:whole of the facts, with-
ever, feeling
tease lea: stratel legal claim could be established against me. I
le est theoltat to
Y oPPosed to factsprmi what
e theta 't had vcstigation of the must remove much of the
'r‘4l'ltte aehaateeein axcited against nee. I was imformed, ow ,
[melons raised by
4'lo 4 ult°l Com Planed confidence' that
he
qof Mention, and
la iktty A to, Pally would involve me in years e
ee,,
e 'es ti'l I ea. 'e of enormous expense and endless annoyance and
liallkss4ta-Taledeteed that legal and tech
tht Ilitte she case Might influence the e d cision to be Pro-
nical questions, toreosn
N Dilbli.. ileeet, could not but feel that, when even my title to the
a 14, tie tee len shares was questioned, though it restd upon
n
eteesiteaea°4led vote of the shareholders, it would be' idle in
14 hiejjkted e'
.Qtn loyself that teee_proceedings throughout would
hat 4111 t to tee 'dinner spirit. - . 1,. 4, Niels "ste considerations, Ihave ascented to the aarangee-
t44:‘ I,,n'Yeeliseeen come to and flume also thought it right t
'',' 4'" to - ..te entire ;es responsibility of the Sunderland Dock
sieert relieve „,
--iy colleaguesP from all liability in respect of
teehtlat' Yet ante •
antesasN re,,,ther charge which, although it does not involve
rat taeteonsibilitye sh,ould still be adverted to. I wolno
ootalk% ~ Nottra,e4.4„tillY to which the accounts have been subjected,_
e4:14 Oteri, 7 Jul Which they have been examined, neither do Le
ettaN „1 late details, for I should then have to discuss the
eatibea,eo carriedeti unsettled question of what chargesle
• teetseee Oo Which to the capital and what to the revenue
_accounts,e.
lr, `o easeeLellne, two neon thick precisely alike. Every it
test Is a4'ellee 'iproperly carried to capital welled, in fact,
taeZed e'tol ehaetanleltitilation.
a , 107 3711. 10s. 10d. has been
iellnhiti' arietilt Vital, vet eaelaeggr oughtto hay' e been charged against
ki,iltotelte eatto tile close of theyear. 1848 ; and it 11 added that,
oil i11...4421.14'1'112d, the traffic has been over reported to the ex-
toe noes heal "si id. Of the former' 5um,.17.9581. 15s. sd. occurs
tal oriaseitatit7of Interest Paid on Debentures ; and when I men-
teilthsei rarei7 the whole period of the formation of the railroad,
men-
the altereses, this is the only sum which, in the shape of de-
el hlea'„Platteethas been carried to the debit of the capital account,
to4lttelteee ei.or" cannot be requisite for those who have regardt nto
at leeit,i'roiteeti'actl-110 operations of the Company, and
tA)thewhichee is
see,i,
ite.4 of
consist everics. Another portion of the sum
iste let eet't ettvias of 59,8111. 14s. lid., arising from the
Di-
gitqtettsel' charged some interest which, although Bargedsome
11; it a bill', ea actually paid, and not having ch d
*el!let, , afterwards collected by public advertisement, an,
4111,,,t tie eota'ing at that time beeliseen by those Directors, con.d
elite ae,i kiwi ririentled in their financial statements.
StNie att hale. 'lance of 29601/. Os. 9d. to be accounted for, spreado
Ottipir to ~,,, Years, much of it depending upon the Propriety_
the
De i,ill't JullPel?,allitlist cost of repairing the engines and stock of
othre.
he era
t: bed state' and of other Railways, delivered to the C
ove
elll e.'Y coma ," lePar, and which it was necessary to impr
stte o‘e4o 4 ve used on the lines of the Company. There may
eatit'lY ee4abt are—some errors in the published accounts ; and
4Ctettittleea ritra4 xl;3' hope that the report of the late Committee of
ts elite- easee-I ee examined with more indulgence in this re-
f, ,re 452/ t,01t1itt,..).1 extended to the former Directors. In the reportof
11,;kit e se. ed ''''e the Railway Company is charged with the sum
errand aahiw, al etill due for the moveable stock of-the Hartlepool
mtt4lf„,ilo IlYh',alttleelgh it had been paid for souse than before—
eft}hf teethe l'a naiasttankagnitude, and yet one which, I freely admit,
11:tel.1:,,taoletra'aestirnated traffic 3 797/. arose from an over-estimate
_ *coca e email padlefor the conveyance, of the mans, the accounta_c;
h.N, ',,baiam., oot then been settled with the Post-office. _ yob.'
r; 1,,„ gat it lc.° of 10,7551. les ed in respect of which I would be
''el tb‘TY era ftl always been the custom of the Company to report
totee • °Pete- ' hi' to and including Saturday ; and thus it is, that
Tie th,7 of the railway, *avery published account has co _ 'Oat ag year. ractionele part of week properly applicable to the
al ea,Wotild h. Whenever the year Closed on a Saturday the ae-
Nee"hot et e7C corrected itself, anclethus all cavil have ceased.
ac-
ne Will 'lntesi this es tat eh aas h part of the du eat without adverting to the
the
1.2, Of th een advanced against me, of havmg swollen the
Ilio et e e Com
h . Wrt 41., of • PaltY's receipts, with the view of advancing o
efathily ageing__ here sing the rate of dividend, and of adding tu..
itsteee_er lea, _ a eharge of no importance, but, fort s
atZlleltakirieistine UM'''. no- solid foundation. During the Perim, etleee!ellne.l the isecount the reeei ts of the Company fnem
'era eel. lie.ee' as publish' d b p c mittee have been
tale ekt, eta .
___ e y the om , ,
da'', le "ed tranie - -um in comparison with which the alleged
eh „dee
peaty ~tiv.. of 14,5121. 19s. 7d. sinks into utter insignift
thi:77i, ,r,),fico, ai",,,g, of Its being far more Shan covered by the nuts
le- f.ole '' 'd. e -"lted, on the same authority, to amount
1, r lete,,Pene n addition, I may observe, that the account ll'ke dli'lest ea K
ellar e t been credited with the very large item due tie ta etas* dein arrear, although they had been debited w t
keolott itave chclared on the same shares, a circumstance not very
al 1,4. eentred if it had been intended to publish inflated
'l4't 4 110 t
t° eet n the v In"' over
erestee eeoreelo, o unnoticed the depreciation which has taken
feetateeeteoriae 0 f d tithe shares of the Company, and which has been
14 al hese tee of eitee 1
.gret. On referring to the farmer value. and
tia lother tee de,te sea in the other great lines of railway, it will be.
!Conte ilettseaneasien has in all cases but one been greater, and
rellille 40-pe. 'es lauch larger than has occurred in the shares o
telt elf °P ktel4l°ll Is
, th, ,e, rly °tee_ ,to be ascribed not to the conduct pursued by
fsei4lorktheestoie op zlr individual, but to causes affecting not one only
at ettie;Ltlng itatealeoe existing railway. It is owing to the formation
10;attler.° elloants,, reallevay— the undue weight attached by the Le-
ese" arteeeetatat,eeu length, regardless of enhanced capital—the
'po,lo-rn,a aellent of branch lines—and the insufficiency of the
~-,,klllsttli.bena te, satrmilisilllent whenever the competition of parties
Aite4lee_fiseno,,?;esi:rn I exerted 'myself to the utmost. I pointed
te4alle ev'eseeaaeaetleat would result from it, but Iwas unheeded.
seated ili"stll,stari,e'sr:_!!tway by the specious outcry for competition,
teal Wei cheap fares ; and myselt and,. o her
tea ' hoder.wh had ne ' adopt, to some extent the objeetiOnable
days;
h:l\reziotttnrenthoairea
::_iautart,tehneeth to resist. It is sentithighthreh reflect
et).! hot b:kted, aTl.toward circumstances,. the lines w i
arrangements beech ad
e, Of Inv,':::, ater to receive the condemnation of the
Tee. eeteesah'eudsatellon, and that the system f gement
Itin ‘ie rees as not been found capable of substantial
et?,eaelt uadi for
th-, of the trade this state of things is, I hope, to be found in the
hit. h aro am Population of the country —in the diminished
4e4lea cierafrriagetneeltnat hese,ause on railvir railways—in the greater economy of
earl toe„.eeh ache— Wagich experience may suggest, and in the ab-
litetea e,"eaealisien 'Z. loir,,_ their extension.
Itsie t
te,nt,o4l
whiehe:rumeetbotsotrverere that I am aware that transactionshiit
t to w
orTen sessetttattiocill to Zettttehdate- inC
Company have in no
tabekh I.l4,„"sctiooe tesaniarY loss. Allow me to ask yon to review
et4rint,-40eeeeee;i1olesoMe remembrance of the excited period in
111, , and oeaeld direetch,,t)p4 multiplicity of concerns which I had to
atteet'ohelle 'dttihtenestraPossibillt.thye ohfrimefyeprtgenideselenhtadattefenrtrioefin;rO
ea! llee, tak aua private
.mattegrarinwhisch then claimed my
ea 4 Perla e lelY lea,
*ft. are enet "ictios °f this Painful subject. Ido so with the
eleoe , _ gaged, la
_n of the soundness of the undertaking in which
eqeelleclota h:eeevilich I continue to retain a large interest, and
eta, 1%741 taaratersf:r its future prosperity. I disclaim all an!-
, '' sullen!), ta'ytaectsfe Who haseashOwn me the least considers.-
mtlYbe-e,-, Gentlemen
'mit 4. alluri, I;gtir Very Obedient servant,
GEORG& 111049 N,

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