The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-12 00:00:00

LONDON,

FRIDAY EVENING,

not warrant a re-adjustment of official incomes,
which, while it conciliates public opinion and gratii•es
the prevalent desire for economy, will still supply the
Cabinet, the diplomatic corps, and the judicial bench
with occupants as distinguished, as honourable, and
as efficient as heretofore—this is a question which
may, in our judgment, be not improperly submitted
at the present time to the arbitration of a Select Com-
mittee.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.
SOUTH-EASTERN.

The half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors
of this company, adjourned from the 14th ult., was
held yesterday at the Bridge-house Hotel, London-
bridge, for the purpose of electing auditor!. Mr. J.
Macgregor, chairman of the board of directors, was
in the chair.

The CILIUM/1N said—Gentlemen, the half•yearly
general meeting of the proprietors in the South-
Eastern Railway, held on the 14th of March, was
adjourned to this day, for the purpose of electing
three auditors. Before, however, proceeding to this,
the business of the day, I beg to state that the direc-
tors on the 21st March carried out the resolution of
the proprietors, and reduced their number to nine—
viz., Mr. Macgregor, Mr. Renshaw, Mr. Bradshaw,
Mr. Browne, the lion. Mr. Byng, Mr. Ironside Mr.
Jack, Mr. Smale, and Captain Warren. And the
directors are advised by counsel of eminence that they
had the right, under the provisions in the company's
Act of Parliament, to reduce their number. 1 have

further to state that a bill was filed by Mr. Thomas
Carlisle on the 14th ultimo, praying for an injunction
to restrain the company from paying the present or
any future dividends until the completion and open-
ing to the public for traffic of the Ashford, Hastings,
and St. Leonard's line of railway. An application
for the injunction was made to the Master of the
Rolls on the 23d ultimo, when, after argument, the
Master of the Rolls granted the injunction as to future
dividends, giving the company liberty to take the
opinion of a court of law on the construction of the
Act of Parliament under which the question raised
arises, and reserved for further consideration the
question as to the payment of the present dividend,
giving the company leave to file affidavits as to the
probable time of completion of the line, and their
possession of the requisite funds properly applicable
to the purposes of its completion. The company
filed such affidavits on the 4th instant as the cir-
cumstances admitted of, and as counsel advised would
be sufficient, and the case was brought on again be-
fore the Master of the Rolls yesterday, when his
Lordship requested that the resources of the company
should be stated in more detail. It is proposed
therefore to file on Friday such further affidavits as
the Master of the Rolls has suggested, and the case
will be brought on again on Monday next. The pro-
prietors who gave fourteen days' notice of their inten-
tion to be candidates for the office of auditors are
Messrs. John Ball, 57, Coleman-street, City ; Thomas
Browne, 3, Albert-road, Etegent's-park ; Joseph
Wilson Buckley, Ellergill Villa, Surbiton, Kingston-
on-Thames ; Coles Childe, Greenwich ; Herbert

John Hughes, 17, Claremont-street, Edinburgh ;
Edwin Keet, 7, Gloucester-terrace, Kensington ;
John Longmore, 5, Portland-place, Borough-road,
Southwark ; Meredith Meredith, 21, Cannon-street-
road, Whitechapel ; John Morgan, 1, Amen-corner,
Paternoster-row; George Smith, 57, Conduit-street,
Hanover-square ; Henry Edward Wardle, 12, Ed-
wards-street, Portman-square ; and John Hill Wil-
liams, 12, Waterloo-place, Pall-mall. It is, how-
ever, my duty to state that Mr. Meredith and Mr.
Wardle, two of the candidates, are not duly qualified
for the office. _ _

Mr. J. WILSON requested the indulgence of the
meeting while he stated his reasons for proposing
that they should not, on the present occasion, proceed
to the election of auditors. In the first place, pro-
ceedings relating to auditors and to all railway in-
terests were at present pending before the Legisla-
ture, and it would be best to wait until they saw
what the result of those proceedings would ;be. In
the second place, he saw balloting papers distributed
in the room, and he was sure that if the choice of the
proprietors differed from that of the chairman, Mr.
Macgregor would come forward with his proxies and
swamp their votes.—(Order, order.) He contended
that the candidates were all of them agreeable to and
in the interest of the directors. The speaker was
proceeding, amid much disapprobation, to prove his
statement in the cases of individual candidates, when
he was called to order by the chairman. He pro-
ceeded to say that the opinion that the working of
the South-Eastern system was bad, ab initio, was
gaining ground with the public, and that the time
was not far distant when the management of the
railway would be placed on a foundation more likely
to make it a valuable property. The whole fault lay
with the present direction. The committee of in-
vestigation had reported that there was scarcely any-
thing wrong, yet they had expressed disapprobation
of the conduct of the directors in no less than
eleven cases which had come under their notice.
and not one of the recommendations contained in their
report had been carried into effect. Mr. Wilson then
referred at length, amid repeated interruptions, to the
conduct of the chairman in disregarding the order of
the board for the sale of 'stock, amounting in value to
156,0001.,
in consequence of which a heavy loss ac-
crued to the company ; in withholding the books from
the inspection of the proprietors, contrary to the Act
of Parliament ; and in making certain alterations in
the financial statement, with the object, as Mr. Mac-
gregor termed it, "of relieving the revenue account."
He concluded by moving, " That the choice of au-
ditors be postponed until the proceedings in relation
to the auditing of railway accounts, now before the
Houses of Parliament, shall be determined."
Mr. COLEMAN seconded the motion.
Mr. Mosmars said that the committee of investiga-
tion had elicited nothing very dreadful against the
chairman er the other directors ; but a cabal had got
into the concern, who were doing all they could to
sink it. He felt confident, however, that their exer-
tions would be unsuccessful.—(Hear.)
Mr. GEORGE SMITH thought it
would simplify the
question if Mr. Wilson were to remember that the
Act of Parliament obliged them to elect three auditors.
It would be absurd if they did not fulfil the purpose
for which they were assembled.—(Hear, hear.) What
they wanted at their meetings was a little calm consi
deration. Their property had been depreciated 30
per cent. during the past month, and the cause he
believed to be the want of confidence in their directors.
He was at some loss to understand fully the state of
their affairs, and for that as well as other reasons he
wished that auditors should be appointed who would
explain them. He therefore moved, as an amendment
to Mr. Wilson's motion, that they should forthwith
proceed to the election of auditors.—(Hear, hear.)
The amendment having been seconded by Mr.
ROSTROSE, was put from the chair, and carried.
Mr. HOLLAND then moved that Mr. Thomas
Browne, Mr. Coles Child, and Mr. John Morgan, be
nominated auditors to the company.
Mr. CIJALLICE, seconded by Mr. HILL, proposed
Mr. John Longmore as an auditor.
Mr. WILSON inquired whether the chairman, in
case a poll was demanded, would make use of the
proxies which he was understood to hold.
The CHAIRMAN said, that in giving an answer to
the question about proxies, he thought he was entitled.
d
wors respecting the charges
to say a few which had
been made against him by Mr. Wilson, as well as the
general interests of the company. Mr. Smith had
difficulty in understanding
stated that there was a
the position of their affairs, and that the auditors
would make it more plain to them. He (the Chair-
man) had been labouring for five years to become
master of their affairs, sand to make them patent to
the shareholders, and be would say that they were
not so complex
that a just opinion might not be
formed upon them. Now with respect to the ques-
tion of proxies, it should be remembered that 5,000
was somewhere about the number of persons actually
a
interested in the company, while few hundreds only
attended at their meetings. He -se felt that he was
responsible not only to those who came to the meet-
ings, but to those who had entrusted him with their
proxies, and though he was sure that the decision of
the proprietors would render the use of his proxies
unnecessary, yet if disqualified or unfit persons were
elected, he would not engage not to exercise the
powers he possessed. Mr. Wilson had brought for-
ward allegations a
year old, relating to circum-
stances which were fully investigated a twelve-
month ago. In all the matters to which that gentle-
man referred he (the Chairman) had acted according
to what he sincerely believed would be for the benefit
Pliny and if Mr. Wilson
of the South-Eastern Company
doubted the truth of his word, he would have an op-
portunity, before long, of examining him upon oath
in a Committee of the House of Common.—[Mr.
Wilson—l thank you for the suggestion]. If he (the
Chairman) had become poor by that company, he
trusted he had not become dishonest.—(Loud cheers.)
His salary of 2,0001. per annum had been again
alluded to. He thought he deserved some :remune-
ration for his exertions; and, whether in their service
or elsewhere, he must earn his livelihood ; but he
would say, if they were dissatisfied with the amount
of his salary, it was perfectly at their disposal, and
they might reduce it as much as they pleased.—
(No, no, and cheers.) He next alluded to the
Chancery proceedings instituted by
by Mr. Carlyle to
prevent the directors from paying the half-yearly
dividend until the opening of the Ashford and Hast-
ings Branch. The directors had made a declaration,
founded on the oaths of the engineer and contractor,
that, in their opinion, the line would he ready to be
opened in August next, and therefore, if Lord Langdale
made an injunction to prevent.the payment of the;pre-
sent dividend, the warrants could not be issued before
August. But he trusted Lord Langdale would not
listen to such an application. He (the Chairman)
would say to him, with Bassani° in the play—
" To do a great right, do a little wrong,
And curb this cruel devil of his will."

For this was one of the moat cruel steps ever taken