The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-23 00:00:00

TO the SHAREHOLDERS of the YORK,
NTEWCASTLE, and BERWICK RAILWAY COMPACNL.
Omitlemen,—So long as the questions existing between the ,
los
of
Cone-
ht and myself were pending for decision by the legal tribumi„stoo t e country, I felt that( had no alternative but patient. subm
„,..
:etlihe imputationsc test on me, and that I must wait till the. tratit._
fle", giving rise to these questions could be calmly and imp
„44Y discussed, and a judicial decision pronounced upon them. The
7Yeeltent.which has now been come to for the settlement of those.
etaeters having rendered such a discue ion and such a d,cision im -
I,cractleable, it may be permitted to me to make a few remarks en the
witch which have been instituted against me,
eh have been threatened.
The • and on those
in tit Proceedings actually taken against me had relation to shares
ll rwisellirr.oart_dltlig Junction Railway, and in the Newcastle and
3a shee --:'proceedings centemplated had re,feietnotied
by
trhs in the Sunderland Docks (beyond the 3 POO ss.arLs san, '
Con, e Company), cud to a quantity ee• iron rails perehaeee by the
1)411.
ta4 eret, as to the Brandling Junction shares. At a
trtut,b,l,le::
Proposed of the Company, held on the 4th of Febraary%.lB4s,oc.t.oeic
._•that these shares should be given to me. No oPP el
,I,_ , - "4 Made to the proposition : and a resolution was accordingly
el'ltls.ed* leavin finding to the disposal of the Directers, with the
a}:eanct anders en the part of every one present that thefy.
emukl be presented to me. They were accordingly se disco, edo ,
tain..443' of them were subsequently given by me to parties whosewhose
Z:4lo„..l!ance had bee& valuable to the Company. It is, of course,. im;
le for Inc to recount the services which, in the opinion of
eZe were so important as to render such an applies-
e r the shares due to me ; but I may remark, that I cannet pert-
et lhowp discredit should attach to ins for receiving shares pltace(..
wenn, 'sPosal of the Directors, with the expressed intention obereen
joioattg Services previously readered, and then thought to
carnet.,
art_
4Weeld re' I Lever imagined that four years afterwards the 0 Pht,eYr
Ili we,
.le questions of a mere technical character as to tile ma i tba,teich their intention* had been carried out. I had cosidered
he re'? shareholder would have felt himself called upon tons ustain
....yecision of the public ineetisig of the Company.
ball I not
ii, to the shares in the Newcastle and Berwick Railway, I
were 0-14'gitted to be equally free from doubt or question. rhey
they e, glnal shares in the Company of which I was the originator -' etel not exceed the number for which I had executed the sub-
lag
rlPet.ion coatract—they were the shares for which, b,lore the pass-
Itieetneiattdhee Act ~ f perllarnent for*the formation of the Company, I
miself responsible, and which I cculd leave been eolii-i-
-telie,, tetske had a loss resulted; My getting them in no waytt 1-
seoreToe:l the number to which it had been publicly stated the o lei;
there , 'den were to be entitled, and which shares every one . o
kr th:ceived• It occurred not, therefore, to me that by receiv-
reeec 54 shares it would be Imputed to me that I violated any
eeleeh °,bll
receivedthe remained in coffers of the Company, it
tier, tohaYe or
been far me easy for the Committee of Derestiga-
k„
of have recommended the adoption of measures for the pur-
tebe to emnPelling me to take them up, than they have. found it
L 't vrlu llcial uPon me te account for the proceeds of sh in respec
• lie% .e had incurred all the responsibility. I willares not enlarge
tweit the Powerful opposition which was encountered, nor will I
d
14Y direl,;" the Manlier in which, and the sacrifices Iseh under
ketwiektilton, and by my unceasing exertions, ties castle and
41 athilitt allway Bill was carried through Parliament : when pffassed
'the sae ed the labour I had undergone—the anxiety I had su ere
aetitreet Pllces.l had made. I executed the identical n
sled e b
e? Which the naMes of the other shareholdere were affixed ,
l'ls ri .- considered that my right nas defined by that contract.
the l.gt has been denied to me, and formed the second branch of
weitigration ha %Illicit I have been involved.
Sitio espect to the Sunderland Docks I may remark, that their
'''etoe,..4 wad Projected before I had any connexion whatever with
Porto'''. of Sunder Mud : that their completion was of eseential ins-
Ofeepeeece., not motets to the town of Sunderland, but to the railway.
the
ee),e_mssessing as it does all the lines of communication with
,44 to '`.• It IS unnecessary- for me to point out how much
flocks M,,PanY are likely to be benefited by the formation of the
dhlr ' "'al the extent to which their traffic will be extended and
sleeratterenue
improved by their construction, as these con-
Pill lens rn
, ust present themselves to the
In
s
ZWard, 7catne connected with Sunderland I subscribed 2,50.0/.
,as Nina i:se doeks on my individual account, that being
l',%Per. 101 My connexion with the town seemed to rener
Prob.& pie Railway Companyesubscribed_for 3,000 shares. In the
Ileeee7 the works it appeared evident to me that te ensure their the it''4l;ift ellectual completion a further interest must be taken.by
4.14 the tr,:aY CoMpany and it seemed also that it was the true policy
:7. the It:Ea„ Petl7 to encourage the rapid completion of the works, for
44`Ite eeetZga:aY Company the increased traffic on their line afforded
"1011 1,7 of a return, independent of any dividend to be received
%It," glares in the docks. In this I did not rely on my own
tke th:_alone. but consulted two of the Directs, concurrence. with me at tlitseZ'or2llltsh,easdtdep.eve took had their entire The pur-
Ten, and the additional shares was the
in
of these dellbera-
areee„,, e shares were registered in the names of three
Pact ee, of tlie Railway Company. To me there was no pros-
re" eirect or indirect benefl. ; my colleagues and myself had
pros-
het be d„li to the interests of the Company. Isi this it is net
.at t ,t'u'ed that we exceeded the legal authority reposed in us ;
iatle AreleY, be allowed to say that we had acted in 'thatwy in
101114 tro'''''s cases-when we considered it important delay
'P4 In air ;aided—Parliamentary sanction ne doubt
.was requisite,
they advArt;ormer cases was obtained—the result being that many
0 Director Mils arrangements were carried through, which thad.
Ll4llty s shrunk from a‘suming this deseriptien of response-
*, aeitv." would have been effected at all. The purchase of
'etien Lionel shares would have been legalised had not the appli-
tteloselein Perliament for that purpose been postponed, with a v!ew
liren2 ThesePtnse by embracing other objects in, the SalHaeafpllicial:
Iv oetuDa., are the circumstances under which it is that the 1 a
11' they b"Y leave refused to recognise these additional shares, and
leee the t,,,°. tile accountable for them, and this too. at th.e very
wZallivey ellnliallY have ratified the purchase of some West Durham nee an hares taken by me in a similar manner, and with the
ee shod of authority the only difference beiug that it has now
eres. 'lO4 aavanta.geou's for the Company to retain these latter
Legally,
rlekt speaking the responsibility in respect of these Sun-
e„trY get Shares may'perhaps be cast upon me, but, if this be so,
stale eet "relloider must fe 1 that I have been guilty of no dishonour-
Tee eland that my positeion ls a hard one
14re x °"lng are-the.circumstances under which the iron rails
th, niuppit.d ~,,
~,, seetoom.. the Railway Company, the only other subject of
101'1:4%1,e:tea proceedings. In the month of October, 1844
IfeirstleemZil,oftwo lei price, I 'contract a specault,:tigotei in rails likely'
quantity with
telj4errholopoki :h.linpodre a
otLeh for
London. Shares in this specula-
-141,4•ed, feel°.frered by me to Forman,
private friends, all of whom de-
ItZe re,.mg unwilli sg to incur the chance of loss, and the specu-
tehNe ael4e4 nIY own: at this period the Newcastle and Berwick
hoi'ed,ed'ePallY did not exist. The price of iron afterwards ad-
t, etal.e. 4, life any other man, was surely entitled to the en:
04 eortn r
mY own iron In the mon of March, 184 a,
hLallaeyWe-e Publicly invited for. the supply Qf iron rails to your
te"'"l 1' an they were accordingly made by some of the first
liii44e,ebt-eee the en trade, including Messrs. Thompson and For-
tiered the obtaind the -contract at the price of the day. They
eiehry efeMaletity comprehended in their contract, partly by th. e
,eeel, tbee.eie!r owe r ~, ~
ane and partly by the delivery of the rails
;la.. oe ii,..aLld on -
aly account. This transaction is complained of
leZtioie fetropriety and perfect legality I never entertained any
Illttki'Dreet: talned no more than tdle market price Ibr my own
IliC"ned eIY the rate which Messrs. Thompson and Ferman
eetlied br°' theirs. If not ono single toe had been
Ilex,e L. me, what would have been the cense-
trZiy`'`e•tle, shsra. Thompson and Ferman would have de-
test 144,4 Y h ‘,,,,"e quantity out of their own stock, and the
Cieweeerto fee Paid plecisely the price for the iron which it has
leieenY, ter was in he way benefited by the transaction with the
tee, It • I et:add have procured from other parties the same
tise-4214141-L°*(YRebt said that it was illegal in me to supply iron to
itkuir.Set,-. '' wnich I was a. director • but I do not believe that even
tey„'lleye- tdre`mgaction could lee held'invalid, die all that the Legis-
the ,o,tra ,20es to vacate the office of a ector coucerned in
ttet
tiritha.,at,el;th the Company. My case, however, occurred before
ajleent was passed, and its provisions, therefore modi-
-44 the Zat%ervrn them to be, leave clearly no application what-
Itlbititi. this d!tail •
el4b,_ tett to
__ it is necessary that I should explain why I have
0et:41,515 ,PaY a sum of money to the Company. When these
bio`theee rst agitated. I submitted the whole of to
f t with-
bac s,hom I
Rea klviied th qualification, to most eminent . counse ~ y
thetra3llo,eotat no legal claim could be establis.hed
whaterwmfeeling
Relinetioro,ngly opposed to any _compromise v , 1
q fit; that hid" Tveatieation of the facts must remove much of tle
l'ar .ke Ile vrle een excited a,gain.t me. I wasinformed, however,
wouvl?Werfht°,,nl I Placed confidence, that thee questions raised by
ktiki,be tilt "euPale3, would involve me in years of litigation, and
to tb`LY. e ‘4.eatise of enormous expense and endless annoyance and.
,taleo4 rnirita" a, advised that legal and technical questions, foreign
tititos4ll kil.W rite ease, -
might hifluence the decision to be pro-
the aline jeal„ Could not but feel that, when even my title to the tee l'eltato.on 'shares was questioned, though it rested upon
be t:dliti'nZeerdO4l vote of the shareholders, it would be idle in
tteilliteted terr°lla myself that the proceedings throughout would
elt 'ee, :ea Winder spirit.
ilk, Winch , 'walk+ considerations, I have accented to the arrange-
%teepee to:as been come to, and I heave also thought it right to
illB and t:elf . The entire responsibility of the Sunderland Dock eee_ relleveray colleagues frost all liability in respest of
blt ut' IS l'et
tkil , hut . another charge which, although it does not involve
Of ,1111 of f,aPonsibility, should still be adverted to. I would not
I:ll6,t.litehetllitittroittriel scrutiny to wnich the accounts have been subjected,
With which they have been examined, neither do I
atigety,eXee oe: trace details, for I should then have to discuss the,
%ow 9be eele. still
unsettled question of what charges really
kle4eeet roe :Ted to the capital and what to the revenue accounts,
gibet4 to 14,7:Le no two men think precisely alike. Every item
i' 84p,, been improperly carried to capital would, in fact,
eh I kw., . ate examinatin.
testhted.itta that in the ag re ate 107,3711. les. 10d. has been
p44ltle, 0 lust capital, which-gougght to" have been changed against
at-eie tb -P to the ee, 1 see, . lose of the year 1848 ; and it is added that,
ad ' 4 552, e Period, the traffic has been over reported to the ex-
ti2tiettetoll,e' heee"?.• 7d. Of the former sum, 17,9581. 15s. sd. occurs etie ~,, ege,, . Interest paid on Debentures ; and when I men-
beeto' its ag the whole period of the formation of the railroad,
4,140 ntelr.ll.abes, this is the oily sum which, in the shape of de-
tee 4, eewee,ehas been carried to the debit of the capital account,
Witt teititeratiori cannot be requisite for those who have regard to
tkleiptAitiNStocketti)v the operations of the Company, and to the extent
'N4,lOt ' works. Another portion of the sum which Is re u. eousists of 59,811 e les. Bd., arising from the late Di-
Ilea Rot charged some interest which, although it might be
n co aid, and not having charged some bet:eeet le°Me, afterwardslected by public advertisement, and
re! re be „telt°, at that time been seen by those Directors, could
r te te is iniVrellended in their financial statements.
`itlile.6,Lbeelanee of 29,6011. Os. 9d. to be accounted for, spread
L4L.. cii7,tir3, much of it depending upon the propriety of
hie 171.1110,.., thz cost of repairing the engines and stock of the
et.tere,‘ bee ° angle, Mad of other Railways, delivered is the Coin-
Nitt`.ley eoui Of repair, and which it was necessary to improve
140 04'1'214 eoubitlearmsed on the lines of the Company. There.may
eZ4th..".,4Pretis ne e-_—some errors he the published ac,countis , and
Ztetti°•aitet ra. V hope that the report of the late Comm nes o
f tlio7u hits CY be eXamined with more indulgence in this re-
-1j4621(-‘4attlitteen eltended to the former Directors. In the report
!tk . 91, 4,1 (le the Railtiay Company is charged with the sum of
lee,aad elodet4 Inn due for the moveable stock of the Hartlepool
.44 Ir of oo Zi,Y, although it had been paid for souse time before—
te• °Niel Itht magnitude and yet one which, I freely admit,
ithlothe
eve le mistke. ' •
4141141‘otitijrmated traffic, 3,797/. arose from an over-estimate
01,0 Moot e`e roe the conveyance of the mails, the accounts Marlow ti,kba_.l.aneVol,„l,l.sot_then been settled with the Post-oilice. This
filleoX,et it h.:,eu,7e51. 10s. Gd., in respect of
,which I would ob-
tplat 77 triLlC'"waYa been the custom of the Company to report
qateeee°Pero74Teto and including Saturday ; and thus
hitasis,etohota.
enaerieee' the r,,,,,re railway, every publish d account
to
the
'ht ~,* hat •„,"''ual Part of a, week properly applicable , I e,, owe ee n henever the year closed on a Saturday the ac-
tlek,:elltiot
~lav corrected itself, and thus all cavil have ceased.
aNti 'ilae‘i'lle 1" thi3 part of the subject without adverting to the
1,144,
04toelifitti41(24etial bepeenaad, advanced against me, of havingdswolleiii
tthlitee
ei e,o es r, Y s .receipts, with the view of a veneu g
ktely fekeins_eo
eicreasing the rate of dividend, and of adding to
eja, Aril,' Me, reoti"arge of unquesticnable importance, but, fortu-
-1 elk endeelo retain upon no solid foundation. During the period
tl44esarelogs, the ee
e -eceetra, the receipts of the Company from
e'4'4l%te,,‘,. lls. eeea comb the Committee, have been
eq. Tut, ttee trof4s‘ a Man ire arison with which the alleged
Neq aY I, —"° of 14,412/ les 7d sinks into utter insignifl-
-49 7 Dr n °thing of '• • •
11,177/. toeeets. Meant its being far more than covered by the uu-
io:tlete,• d. ee
e,ed, on the same authority, to amount to
th',l4terevaPY Ito; `elailtion, may observe, that the accounts of
1,,,. ee,„ et on ,411,,a.orbeen credited with lhe very large item due
~,_•ely tn`Tilds dee,T in arrear, although they had been debited with
e`eotettat.aVe eoeTired on the same sheres, a circumstance inflated
occur if it had ,been intended is publish
1114/vetilaeie
L' tee 14
the'vt P 4" °Ve •
Dees : 4,otire:lno
of
the ueitilenroetsicefdtitheedepreciation
iwthhhhasastabkeeenn
11°,14letl'IttZ°rtil 4::),N) regret. of
ii•eeferornliTgatneYihaentfo,-mw former value and
tk4llotC I!te,tleVl, lie the other great lines of railway, it will be
elle°, el' lq,to„ Q 441611 has in all cases but one been greater, and'
Qt„4111831:kly. :'"3 Much larger than has occurred in the shares of
le49leniteo .1 . •
of hewt bY pule: ,to be scribed' not to the conduct pursued by
;;41peettee_e eiew,..teindividual, but to ceases affecting not ono ouly
qa. tXttrig 44u existing railway. It is owing to the formation
tittil,.to dioll4:,!lllwaY—ttee undue weight attached by the Le-
-40,144
triti,
is
Fern,
it.aonfl
ebnr at 1
wheneveric
Villa talicetablsCet`e' length, regardless of enhanced capital—the
tte:s- and the insufficiency of the
eut 414, Iteni to .
the competition of parties
14. teo
c, t thei.,eilennt.
4,;ll,,,o2the,toZeilene I exerted myself to the utmost. I pointed
14eee4te,Zet as
eae_es. that would result from it, but I was unheeded.
Dolled inl'ilstene:.'"4l away by the scious outcry for competition,
the4Oreleeelf-elereuee, and cheap fares ;a nd myself and others cone-
ZeLet, oe et we ~,. eto adopt to some extent the objectionable sys-
"tbettliser tbuze no strength to resist. It is something to reflect
,l'e 11., trilet4t untoward ' circumstances, the lines which have
wlifirefti4.h.eete et) 'teal' tee arrangements which have been made,
eho4ell wen Of eov'teestitaracter to receive the sondemnatiou of the
in% tnatiutthorlon, and that the system of maaagennent
ht}lt in has not been found capable of substantial
es;t4sl4"edi for this
the oftitt trtme
4_ll state of things is, I hope, to be found in the
k,,ir kanitartielss7,lPoPulatlon of the country—in the diminished
I.l' (1/ freniernent ...,use on railways—in the greater economy of
hitt, %NI 4 reagent
experience may suggest, and in the ab-
-151 e oco lesion t .a eor, their extension
l'at, %roe three ee,would observe that I •
eo' eeneehjunich ere to be
re. ant aware that transactions
_lieBe t
enstath on to
Ine
to
tettted, but •in respect to wh!ch it
ectAtlhl at the Company have in. no
Zic', I.l4.l4aetieltd PecunialrY 105 e
t101'4114 44Cetirr'e:Tith Imo rellleroblZOnee
oftothrk y.otudto
period
dieLe
tlih...e_elrlanuatiro,..ire.-..:0f the multiplielty
Possty of of coecernsexneelnechplehad to
the lib,— or the brief opportunities I had for reflee-
an Dahl! '
1 ',`,..ii. -e and private my giving sufficient attention.to
4'084" take - y i Matters which then claimed nay
Yoe 4 rree, m eft.eo,
of
.44
;telte ra eni` e'tnviction of 'ilia Painful subject. Ido so with the
0 ... aged. _
tie the soundness of th
ieelcseob ecats hloupwe httie c°, nunne to retain a large undertakingiate rineswt hianehd
lis-1.!,,,
1/4.. k thoseraBo_ vrho have shown me thlc disclaim
..,
!illbtowerd, 3 tuture prosperity. all' ant-
least considera-
-114. '42412u `ll ' ' •
Piktki i ekout your
44114,17, lop glen' 91tedlent servant,
' 0E0)304 iLITIMN,