The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-26 00:00:00

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MANCHESTER RACES.

(THIS DAY.)

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.)

The Champagne Stakes.

Unity „. ...
Madame Wharton ... ••• ...
Maid of the Mountain ... •••
The Chesterfield. Handicap.

The Cocktail
Woolwich
Lady Hy Ha
Vanguard

... 1
... 2
... 3

TATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING.

CESIREWITCH.

8 to 1 agst Landgrave
10 to 1 age. Russborough
10 to 1 agst Bolingbroke
10 to 1 agst Backbiter
18 to 1 agst Mulgrave

SLY O'CLOCK.

20 to 1 agst Trouncer
25 to 1 agst Legerdemain
25 to I,,agit Chantrey
25 to 1 agst Lady Eden
NEWMARKET TWO YEAR OLD TRIENNAL.
3 to 1 agst Aaron Smith
3 to 1 agst Paym€nt
5 to 1 agst Hernanitz
DERBY.

30 to 1 agst Aaron Smith
50 to 1 asst Lightfoot

RAILWAY RETURNS.
The last week's railway receipts, ascertained up to this
day, are in round figures as under:—

1850.
Groat Western £18,105
North-Western 47,279
South-Western 12,231
Brighton
Midlund
South-Eastern
North Statfordbhire
Caledenhn 7,103
•

FRANCE.

. 1849.
£16,082
43,452
10,052
12,011
23,659
12,645
4,260
6,812

General de Saint Priest has addressed the following
letter to the Legitimatist journals, explaining the late
Legitimatist manifesto :

`• It is easy by the assistances of haasrded suppositions
to pervert facts, and to draw from them inductions
alike false and exaggerated. That is what has now taken
place. Allow me to re-rstahlish the truth. What, in
fact, has taken place? A circular was addressed to two
or three electoral correspondents in each department;
it bears the signature of a man who, since 1845, has been
charged with this correspondence, and who has no other
functions; than those of secretary of this electoral com-
mittee; it points out the names of five persons who, from
different claims and under different regimes, have for
many years past been honoured with a confidence
which they have always considered compatible with
their duties as citizens. The object of this circular is
the condemnation of a doctrine erroneous in a monar-
chical point of view. One of the copies fell, either by
chance or otherwise, into strange banes, and acquired
a publicity for which the documeet was never inttntled.
It has bern laid hold of to disguise intenticni ; to
carry up to a high qul.rter a responsibility which my
honour forbids me to decline, convinced, a; I am. that
it is only the exercise of a legitimate to write to
correspondents- who share in your opinions, and cer-
tain that it would be gain to attempt to find in my acts
or in my private life absolutist doctrines opposed to
the present period. Ipr )test against this abuse. Only
one question of dextrine is treated of in the circular—
that of au appeal to the people; and it is condemded as
incompatible with the principle of hereditary monarchy.
The direction of general policy is there also spoken of;
but who is there that can understand from that any-
thine more than the direction of the ideas of a party
which will not sepal ate • its principle from the national
liberties, so loudly proclaimed even by the representa-
tive of that principle? And how can it be supposed
that the men whose directions and correspondences
have for so long a time only had for object the exercise
of the rights which existing institutions have conferred
on them, would suddenly change their convictions and
their language, when the matured wisdom of that
Prince, in spite of the absolutist impulses of a part of
Europe, has traced these noble words, the dictates of
his heart, 6 May the spectacle of so many calamities,
and the fear of evils which threaten the future, not
lead away minds far from these great principles
of justice and of public liberties, which at this
time more than ever the friends of the people and of
kings should defeud and maintain.' I must confine
myself, sir, to this simple statement, in avoiding all
that might be irritating; bat I think I have in my turn
the right to demand that a meaning shall not be sought
for in this letter which is not put there. Thirty years
since, in 1821, the illustrious Royer-Collard said that
words were tortured to make them say other than the
truth; it appears that the secret has not been forgotten."

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
SOUTH DEVON.

EXETER, WEDNESDAY SEPT. 25.—A special ge-
neral meeting of the shareholders of this company was
held yesterday afternoon at the New London Inn, in
this city, Mr. Woolcombe in the chair • in pursuance
of a requisition, signed by 22 shareholders, represent-
ing between 1,600 and 1,700 shares, and Mr. C. Ste-
vens, whose name appeared at the head if the list,
had signified his intention of moving a resolution re-
quiring the appointment of a committee to inquire
into the affairs of the company.
Mr. STEVENS then proposed the following resolu-
tion :—" That a committee, to consist of three per-
soas, proprietors in the South Devon Railway Com-
pany, be appointed for the purpose of considering
whether any and what measures ought, to be adopted,
with a view to the reduction of the working expenses
of the undertaking, improving the traffic and revenue
thereof, establishing and maintaining the credit of the
company, and otherwise improvingthe conduct and ma-
nagement of its affairs. Also, whether it be expedient
that the provisions in the company's Act of incorpora-
tion, in reference to the appointment, the number, and
order of rotation of directors, the right of voting the
audit of accounts, the powers of sale and leasing, and
other provisions should be altered or enlarged, and
also to report their opinion on the expediency of an
application to Parliament for these purposes, the com-
mittee to have full powers to call for, and require the
production of, and to examine, inspect, and take
copies of all books, accounts, and papers of the com-
pany, and to employ accountants and other assistants
and with all other necessary and proper power. The
committee to report also on the state and condition of
the company and its affairs ; and that it be a direc-
tion to such committee to state the names of the per-
sons who have been deprived of any pecuniary advan-
tage by reason of all or any of their calls having
been from time to time unpaid, and the sums of money
which they have lost thereby, with a view to the re-
turning them the same. His object, he said, was
simply an inquiry into certain facts which had ap-
peared to the requisionists to require investigation.
He represented in that meeting 111 persons, pro-
prietor:, of more than 1,600 shares, and the claim
which he made on their part for an inquiry ought not
to be denied by the directors. He would refer to
one subject touched upon in the requisition, viz., the
hire of locomotive trains. W.as it not fitting
that the contract for a matter of such importance
should be submitted to the shareholders for their ap-
proval ? He would also refer to the present state of
the credit of the company. That it was bad, was not
to be disputed ; but what was the reason of its being so,
with a revenue larger than their debenture debts ? He
had no hesitation in ascribing it to the mismanage-
ment of the directors. Mr. Stevens then proceeded
to vindicate his own conduct in reference to the pre
ference shares, the validity of which he had disputed,
and to answer a circular issued by the directors, ex-
planatory of their own conduct in the transaction.
Ihe reasons he had given would show the necessity of
placing more power in the hands of the shareholders,
and in order to do so he entreated their support to the
resolution he had proposed.
Captain EDWARD JENNINGS, R N., seconded the
resolution.

Mr. .MILNER moved as an amendment—" That a
committee of shareholders be appointed to confer with
the directors." A committee of investigation was
frequently a committee of hostility, and the appoint-
ment of a committee of the shareholders to confer with
the directors, would meet the view of the larger body
of those interested.

Mr. G-. HARPER seconded the amendment.
Mr. GELL, of Plymouth, said he believed that the
board could give good reasons for its conduct, and
trusted that they would come forward and give those
reasons. He trusted that several items of expense
would be wanting in the next year's accounts. He
`was an advocate for the reduction of fares, and he
believed that the experiment was worth trying. The
expense of the permanent way was also much too
large in his opinion. He did not wish to see Mr.
Stevens's motion adopted, nor yet thrown aside alto-
gether. But it was quite true that some effort was
made to retrieve the present condition of the company,
by increasing its traffic, and reducing the cost of ma-
nagement.

The CHAIRMAN said that the committee to inquire,
and the committee to confer, were, in fact, identical,
and he should treat them as such in his observa-
tions. He had not sought the position he then occu-
pied, and he would not only be willing but glad to
surrender its arduous duties at the call of the share-
holders. During the period in which he and his col-
leagues had held office, the working expenses de-
creased steadily every half-year, with a corresponding
increase in the receipts of the line. The permanent-
way contract would effect a considerable saving on
the present rates—the difference between the rate
per mile they paid to the contractor, and the rate per
mile of the Great Western, as to the increased charge
for the maintenance of the permanent way. This
charge was always greater in new lines than in old
ones, and he was afraid that they would for a short
time increase, although that would soon be followed
by a permanent diminution. He believed that rail-
way companies would make the largest amount of
profit at the lowest rate of fares. lie thought that
the change should not, however, be sudden. If they
had confidence in the directors let them that day avow
it; and if they had not, let them not have a committee
of investigation, but have a new set of directors alto-
gether.

- Mr. Fox then moved a vote of confidence in the
directors.

It was objected that this resolution could not be
put until the others were disposed of.
After some discussion Mr. Almmarr withdrew his
amendment, and Mr. Nonxis seconded Mr. Fox's
resolution, observing that he should. afterwards pro-
pose that it be referred to the directors to ascertai❑
some means of adjusting the varying interests of the
holders of original and preference shares, and to admit
both to immediate participation in the profits of the
company. _ _ _

BAILEY, a shareholder, then rose amidst cries
of ‘_.‘ Question." Upon his announcemeut that he
would be heard, and had a long speech to make, the
patience of the meeting, which had farted already five
hours, gave way, and although it was announced that
a special train would run to Plymouth after the
London mail had passed, the room was half emptizd.
Mr. Bailey, with a resolution which would have done
honour to a better cause, maintained his ground, and
had his speech all to himself. The shareholders re-
monstrated loudly against Mr. Bailey's pertinacity,
finding that, in spite of all interruption, he still con •
tinned. About fifty gentlemen declared that they
would return in three- quarters of an hour, and vote
when he had done. Air. Balky, after more than an
hour's perseverance, gave up his point, but in conse-
quence of many shareholders having actually left to
dine, it was deemed necessary to keep the poll open
until nine o'clock.

The result was that Mr. Stevens's motion was lost ;
that of Mr. Fox, for a vote of confidence in the direc-
tors, being carried.
The meeting then thanked the Chairman for his
impartial conduct, and separated.

A ROMANCE OF REAIL LIFE.
In the evening, towards the end of the year 1846,
when the typhus fever was making its ravages
amongst the poor in the populous districts of Glas-
gow, a female was often heard singing at the edge o
the pavement before the Western Club House. iler
dress consisted of little more than a petticoat and a
shawl. With ti.e latter she covered her face, head,
breast, and shoulders. The passer-by could not
dis-
tinguish whether she was well-formed or crooked,
good-looking or marked by the small-pox, young or
old, but the musical connoisseur could judge, from
the melancholy strains that forced their way from
within the all-protecting shawl, that the sound came
from the voice of a girl of about seventeen years of
age. She never solicited alma, but took whatever was
given her with a curtsey, and now and then with a
blessing, murmured in a low voice. One night,
when " the winds were whistling cold," and the rain
Ngv:nstirtnuerningwedroewn in torrents, two young German
all in her power, passingi.nitt
wind
e girl, who was striving
her features concealedG and weather, to keep
her a trifle and hurried on, accompanied by
tonreonsm,o-fatlhweayus•nrld. They gave
and
saidber voice. Suddenly
the heart-touching
you hear that
one cf them stopped
ie,vr"oi Di
egeipf,foreosmn °dens ter ut rc3-'
la%nitdh such a
Let us
voice ? What beauty
fromse lileaven
to save the possessor of sueljli"a
They returneel: what we
tion ? Shall a girl
die from hunger, or worse?"
can do," answered the other.
the watchman of the district, and sought information
from from him. The watchman could say very little about
her. He did not know where she lived, nor what her
name wa3, nor had he ever seen her face, but he gave
her an excellent character, as far as he could judge.
He was told to ask for her name and address ; and
one morning, after having got this, the two young
philanthropists went to the assigned place, but were
very much disappointed by finding that no such place
existed. After having again spoken to the watchman,
they got en answer through him that the girl pur-
posely gave a wrong address, in order to get rid of
the young men, and that she also decidedly refused to
give her right name and address, or to go to see any
person, adding that "no one knew who she was, and
no one ever should know." After about a month's
diplomatic negotiations by means of the watchman,
the girl agreed at last to visit a German lady, univer-
sally esteemed in Glasgow for her kindness aLd bene-
volence. Arrived there, and putting the jealous
shawl aside, a pale interesting face was discovered.
The girl gave satisfactory references as to her termer
life. It appeared that she was a native of Edinburgh ;
that having become destitute from the death
of her father, the illness cf other members of
her family (they were bed rid w ith fever), and
many other' circumstances, and not being able

to gat work sufficient to provide for a sick
mother and young brother, and being possessed of a
good voice—her only family inheritance—she resolved
to try to make a precarious living by singing on the
streets during the twilight and evening. Being
asked to sing she readily complied. Mr. Seliginann,
the well-known professor of music, who was present,
and one of the young men who had first taken an in-
terest in the voice, said—" The voice of that young
girl is not the one we admired so much." lie re-
marked as something peculiar, and which he had ob-
served on previous occasions, that the voice sounded
on some evenings most beautifully, while at otheir
times it was very indifferent. The girl insisted that
she was the person in question, and by repeating her
conversation with the watchman, by naming over the
list of songs she was in the custom of singing, estab-
lished beyond doubt that she was the individual in
whom they seemed to take an interest. The matter
remained unexplained at the time, and the visit ended
by the lady and Mr. Saligmann promising to call on
her sick mother, after having had inquiries made into
the character of the family. Having found this to be
in all respects satisfactory, the promised call was
given, and then it was found out that the girl had a
sister, who was then with a distant relation in Pais-
ley, and who, when she happened to be in Glasgow,
sometimes relieved her from the task of singing
in the streets. The two girls were taken by
the gentlemen and the watchman for only one, and as
the two sisters communicated their adventures to each
other,' the mistake was thus easily explained. The
second girl, who was the elder of the two, was sent
fur, and her voice soon proved her identity. Most
satisfactory information as to her character having
also been received, another benevolent German lady
instructed her in reading, writing, and other elemen-
tary branches of education, and Mr. Saligmann gave
her singing and piano lessons. When her kind in-
structress left Glasgow the girl was put at board to
different respectable families in succession, and her
education soon took a higher bent. Her conduct and
diligence gave great pleasure to her patrons, who, by
private subscription, raised a sum of money for her
support. After more than two years' instruction in
Glasgow, it was considered expedient to send her to
Germany to pursue a higher branch of musical study
than this country affords. From thence, where she
has been labouring successfully about 18 months, we
receive the most flittering accounts of her voice, the
compass of which is from G below the lines to E fist
in alt, nearly three octaves. We hear, moreover, that
she makes great progress in every female accomplish-
ment, and that she is received into the best society.
As she is to appear soon in concerts in her native
country, we consider it our duty to direct the atten-
tion of our readers to her history, and to interest them
in her behalf. The name of the handsome young lady,
in whose elegant manners, lady-like deportment, and
great musical abilities no one would find out any truce
of the street-singer, is Christina Dawson.
We have watched the progress of Miss Dawson's
education since she was taken in charge by her phi-
lanthropic protectors, and have much pleasure in
bearing testimony to the rapid and steady progress
she made under her different tutors before her remo-
val to Germany. We may also add that we have been
long acquainted with the facts contained in the above
simple narrative, and would have given them publicity,
but we delayed the recital until their publication
might be of service to her on the occasion of her first
public appearance as a professional vocalist.
IVe may here add that the father of Miss Dawson
was through life an industrious mechanic, originally,
eve believe, from Rothsay. Christina, the heroine of
the above little story, is his eldest child. The widowed
Mrs. Dawson, with her second daughter and son, are
now in Edinburgh, where they have been by the kind
aid of Miss Dawson's patrons, put into a small and
respectable way of gaining their livelihood, so that
they are now placed beyond the necessity of depending
upon eleemcsynary aid. Miss Dawson's professional
career, it is to be hoperl, will further remove them
from want, and may, as she has always shown great
filial and sisterly affection towards her relatives, place
them in a more comfortable position in society than
their late gloomy prospects would have led them to
hope for.—Glasgow Herald.