The Sun.
London, England, 1826-02-27 00:00:00

AR,IGNA IRON AND COAL, COMPANY

On Thursday a half-yeariv Meeting of the
Shareholders of this Company was held al the London Tavern,
Bishopsgate-street. A little before twelve o'clock Mr. Brog-
den entered the room, and shook hands with Mr. Slattery and
some of his friends. The Directors soon after made their lip-
pearance, and a discussion ensued about electing a Chairman;
Mr. Joseph Clarke being proposed by one party, and Mr.
Brogden by the other. It was decided by a show of hands to
be in favour of Mr. J. Clarke.
Mr. comEnronly asked if any person belonging to the
Imperial Gas Company, were in the room ?—A Proprietor
answered, that Shareholders, who also belonged to the Im-
perial Gas Company, were likely to be at least as Impartial
as the private agent of Mr. Crawshay, the ‘Vesbilt ironmaster.
Mr. Bat:tours then read the report of the Directors, in
which were detailed the injuries which had arisen to the Com-
pany's works in Ireland, in consequence of the reports which
had gone over, of the depression of the Company, and the ex-
ertions of parties inimical to its interests. For want of coals
the furnaces had been stopped ; but a supply had be ob-
tained and the works were now proceeding favourably.,....
Some of the iron had been brought to market, and was
found to be of excellent quality. A Chancery suit had been
instituted against the Directors by three discontented share.
holders. Some of the Directors foul resigned. One of the
auditors had died, and the other had resigned. The Report
concluded with calling on the shareholders to support the inte-
rest of the Company, and to preserve a property which was so
valuable. _

......„..___
Mr. WEr.sts moved, that the report be approved. Ile had
ately come from the .works in Ireland ; a new vein of excellent
coal had been found, which made good coke. The communi-
cation which hail been made with the works, by persons dis-
affected to the company, had done much injury, and paralysed
the efforts of the directors. Mr. Clark had stated, that be was
waiting for Mr. Brogden and Sir William Congrev4lo turn the
directors out of possession ; that he possessed their entire confi.
Bence. Mr. Vivian, the company's manager, was put in
danger of his life; Mr. Slattery had represented that he had no
authority, and all this was believed by the peasantry to he true.
He (Mr. Welsh) had originally let the mines to Mr. Slattery;
he was agent for the Messrs. batouche, a family distinguished
for their hilanthropy and charity, whose purse wits always
open, anti yet, strange to say, was never empty. That family'
felt a deep interest in the company, its the works supplied em-
ployment to the peasantry, which they were in danger of losing
it discussions continued. lie had been told that certain persons,
culled Welsh ironmasters, had conspired to put down the corn.
pang, and that Mr. Comerford, the solicitor of the discontented
shareholders, was the private agent of Mr. Crawsity.
3lr. Cost xiironn in strong lani„niage disclaimed being the
agent of Mr. Crawshay : he was only the-solicitor of Crewsitay
and Co.. ' '
Mr. WELSH proceeded to state a variety of particulars re.
apeeting the establishment of the Company, and the conduct of
Mr. Slattery, who. be said, had been disappointed in not get..
ting 1,500/. a-year for superintending the works. He (Mr.
\Velsh) had suffered in the good opinion of Messrs. batouclies
for baying had any thing to do with Mr. Slattery. Before sit.
d
ting down, he would ask Mr. iirogden if he had lodged the
1,047/. he had received in a:place of safety, or if he ha lodged
it to the credit of the cause to Chancery, to abide the decision.
i‘thies of " Order," and cheers.)
in the strongest language, ex.
presisredDhilisTlepurEobxatrionsvo'fBre'conduct of the directors in taking
the 15,000/. for the mines more than they had paid. Ile canto.
tiered it as little differing in its principle from at felony. Ile de.
Glared himself incaptible of participating in such it transaction.
He then went on to give the details of circumstances already
familiar to the public, and declared that when he received the
1,047/. he thought it proceeded fromr, the sale of his shares. lie
had never known that the mint% were not purchased for 25,0004
until informed of the circumstance by Alr. Slattery in July litst
and when he had made the discovery, he endeavoured to bring
the subject before the proprietors; he gave a statement of his ef..
limit for that purpose. Ile had suffered by tae l Corntpany. He and
Mr. Bent hart refused to take 231. pm. thr their shares, and they
both had felt it very eat mortlinart,o47l. instead of 2,3001. ; still the t their loh si sores should have
been sold and prodoced only
they resolved not to complain. He declared that the attempt
to involve himself and Mr. Bent in the knowledge of the trans.
Clarke)
action witsa foul and infamous conspiracy,. and asserted that
the Chairman (Mr. Joseph
had Made many thousand
pounds by the 'tale of shares. Mr. Brogden oriole severe
corn.;
inane on the conduct of Sir Writ. Congreve, anti atierwards
made the most solemn asservatitma of his own 1,160„,,,4 1,4
sitliverra.tl(4.)at,B
appealed with reat earnestness to the meeting it' it mad be
credited that a gentleman of his rank and connexion, could hiive
to take a part in the proceed.
been concerned in such devilish proceeding tur the paltry. eon.
•
ings for the sake of his native country, strugglina with thifeut.
of 1,11001,
ligrielt his duty
ties. He asked why Mr. Brogilen still kept the 1',0471, ? Why
abide the result
• it was not dePusited in the Bank of England. to

of the snit? It was sophistry to talk of his innocence whilst he
still retained the Money. Why was- it not paid to the credit of
the suit in Chancery ?
Mr. BROHDEN—q have not paid back iVe money, and I
will not pa* it back; 1 say the Money received was fin-
the sale of shares, and I should be pleading guilty to re-
turn it.
Mr. 0113YHNE—Thtn the gentleman differs from. Mr.
Bent, who says he is ready to pay it hack. The story now
palmed on the public wasamwortby of belief. No body of
persons; a reasoning body like Lngliehmen, would believe
that a man would receive 1;047/. without inquiry. The sharei
were at a premium 231., and if 109 had been sold would have
brought 2,300/. Would not any man have said, by what
authority did you Sell my shares? Why not at the full price ?
Who was the broker Where is the account ? fie would
leave it to their skill in. arithmetic, as Well as to their skill in
sophistry, to makegood their story. Mr. O'llyrne proceeded to
comment on the conduct of Mr. Slattery, and on the strictures
of Mr. Brogden and Sir, William Congreve, and concluded by
saying, that from a sense of duty to his country, he shaeld sup•
port the apprirval of the report.
Mr. Wu. CLARK rose, and stated, that he had a series of
questions in put to the chairman, and began to put them, no
which a discussion arose, which terminated in Mr. Healing,
the Belicht* of the Company, professionally advising the
Directors not to answer any questions, as there was a bill filed
In Chancery to answer upon oath. Mr.i Clark went tin to re-
mark on 'the proceedings, and to declare; that assertions of
innocence would satisfy him without turf investigation. A man
money ought to be as careful to see that the be got came riglr-
teously into his pocket, as the intint7 which went out.
Mr. HnInIEHarY, of Cambridge, said, that as the matter
was carried to the Court of Chancery, he should be ashamed to
give an opinionyeittiente lite. wished 'some way could be
found of settling the dispute for the , benefit of the property..
He thought that a case might be drawn up by consent of the
parties, 'and submitted to the Attorney-General and Solicitor-
General, who might deide the matter in a week.
Mr. DENHAM made inquiry if the secretary had a copy of
the letter sent to the proprietors, when theirishares were appro..
priated ? A copy of the letter was produced and real.
" /trips Iron and Coal Company,
15, King's Arms-yard, Nov. 29, 1824.
" Sir—l am directed to intorm you, that your application
has been submitted to the Committee, anti your name will be
inserted in the list for 100 shares of NI. each, in this under-
taking, upon your paying in to die bankers, Messrs. Bosanquet,
Pitt, and Co., 73, Lombard-street, the drat payment of Si. per
share, to the account of The Directors of the Arigna Iron
and Coal Company.' I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
" A. MITT."
He would ask, then, how M ssrs. Brogden and Bent could
fancy they held 100 shares, when they had not paid for them ?
The condition on which they had shares allotted was that of
paying a deposit, and they had not done so.
It was denied that the same, letter wets sent to the directors as
to the other proprietors.
Mr. De xua at, holding up the letter, said, " This is the
identical letter addressed to John Bent, ,Naq."..-.(1..00d shout-
ing and clamour.)
Mr. Ilicittiee moved, as an amendment, a resolution
whoa receiving the report and appointing a Committee of in
quiry into the accounts and the transactions of the Company
from its commencement, and teat no further call should be
Made until such Committee had made a report to the next ge-
noral meeting. Mr. Ilichens entered into a long detail of the
circumstances already before the public' and
,said 'he should go
on to animadvert on what he considered the false sophistry of a
gentleman front the sister kingdom--
Mr. WELSH—Sir, I shall be happy to attend you anywhere.
--(Cries of " Order, order.")
Mr. HICHENS then proceeded with his statement, but which
was a repetition of what has already been.eitarged against those
who had the management of the Company.
Mr. Was. CLARK said, his reason for appearing before the
meeting was, to show that he was neither Mr. Joseph nor Mr.
Henry Clarke, with whom he bad been confounded by persons
who did not know him.
Mr. JOSE sit CLARKE—I ant happy to say I am not the Mr.
Clark who-bad just addressed the meeting. Ile said, he had
not intended to address the meeting, as the matters in dispute
were before a higher tribunal; and it was un that account he
had not noticed any reports of party meetings, or correspond-
ence in the newspapers; but he now felt it necessary to make a
few observations on the speech of Mr. Brogden. 'That Gentle-
man had stated, that he herd been acquitted by a large meeting
of shareholders, and it wits true; all the directors had ac-
quitted by a meeting of 157 proprietors, of whom only 22 voted
against them. But Mr. Brogden had spoken of this resolution
as if it referred only to himself and to Mr. Brent. If Mr.
Brogden's views had been acceded to, the Arigna had then
been stifled at the-birth. That Gentleman had come to hint,
and proposed to form a company for working iron mines on his
(Mr. Breeden 's) estate in Wales' for which he modestly asked
only 1,0001. a-year ; anti he offered to he a director of that cow.
pang, Now, it was true that estate contained bad coal, and
some bad iron ; but was not worth above 101. a-year, yet he
wished to make a company, and to charge 1,0001.
Mr. BROODER-1 declare that this statement Incorrect
from beginning to end; that is nll I have to shy.
Mr. jateeep ceauxe asserted that he had evidence, and
would produce it at the proper time. It was after Mr. 'Sweden
mold not succeed in making this' now Company of his own,
that he became a director of the Arigna, saying, that if he could
not get the greater, he would take the less. Hence the cause
dins dissatisfaction. In respect to Alr. Morgan, he did sot
take the 1017/., but why ? because he could not get it. He
wrote over from the Continent for it, but it was refused to him.
It was to be given only to those who wok the trouble of form-
ing and managing the Company. When he came over and
attended the board four times, it was never tendered to him;
and when he could not get the grapes, he said the grapes were
soar. All the Direetors, including Mr. Brogden anti Mr.
Bent, knew the source from whence came the 1,0471.
After a discussion of about live hours, it was at last agreed,
that for the convenience of all parties, the sense of the proprie-
tors might be taken in a legal and decisive manner, that the
amendment should be allowed to pass prO pram, and that a
ballot should be taken on ‘Vednesday, the that of Match.
A vote of thanks was then moved to Mr. Joaeph Clarke for
his conduct in the chair, and it was carried in the affirmative.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

COURT OP KIWI'S BENCH, FEB. N.
ToBYN v. TitIUMEU AND ANOTUEN.

This was an action by a waterman against the defendants,
barge.masters at Kew, to, recover the value or hit wherry,which
had been run down and destroyed by one of their barges; and
else to the expenee of !tiring another boat.
It appeared that on the night of the r,th April last, the Ile-
fendanre barge, loaded with breeze or ashes', was lying along-
side the wharf of Messrs. Payton and ("heave, near Execution
Dock, On the river Thames; and the plaintiff's wherry, with
about 30 others, was moored about 100 feet front the wharf.
Between one and two o'clock on the morning of the oth of
April, the bargemen, in endeavouring to move the barge into
the stream, to avail themselves of the title, ran foul of the tier
of wherries and destroyed the plaintiff's, betides damaging sere•
ral others.
Witnem‘es were produced who proved the tholtaflo to have
been occasioned by the defendant's bares, tied fixed the value
of the wherry at N., and the hire of the other boat at 31. Kt.,
being after the rate of 2s. per week.
dence to the Jury, expressed his opinion, that if they were sa-
t The LORI) CittEr Jervis:ex having recapitulated the evi-
dence occationed by the defendants' barge,
iiiisefie pt
entitled to their verdict for the damage
ilatiintatitirth would
ittitjaurrie
proved, and some mall compensensation for the trouble he had
been put to.
Dam:lg es 101.
Verdict for the plain tiff
tre.tati awn w trt MOVNTAIN ANn Arroriren.
'Phis vraS an action to tecover a compensation in damages for
the injury sustained by the plaintiff's wife, being thrown from
--
the defendant's coach, through the neglect and misconduct of
the tit:few:lams' servants:
ifs. T.%t.t o i tin everted the pleadings.
,^llr. 13t:et m A stated the cave to the Jury. From the evi-
Alence of three other outside prissenors, it :Treated that Mra.
firth' .tn nassenger with them on the tlefentlanta' Exeter
(web, railed the Bovereign;'' on the tith of April foie.. On
leaven; Exeter, the coach was very heavily loaded Whiting-
gage in the boots and also on the roof, so much so, as to be in-
cnnvrt,icnt to thetittle:sitenr:gtger.ishailiin
iltettinssginbgrockltet,ven a
arts ortinettmottillile,
rtes uliylttfry,
buries becoming unruly, the roach WIN drawn- into the water
table by the road.t4itte, and some one exclaiming " she is