The Sun.
London, England, 1844-11-28 00:00:00

teseesol7 eased be was some at surprise{
at the interruption that had been offered to him. The
Hon. Proprietor had referred him to the printed con.
respondence.—(Hear, hear.) Now, it was on that core
respondence Veit he (the Chairman) had expeestel hie .
. doubt. He would read to the lion. Proprietor the line
referred to, and the Proprietors would then seseif thel.sie '
rectors were not left in doubt as to the disposition of the
Grand Junction Directors in reference to the easteatiteee
of July: The line referred to was to the follow' ug effect:—
. " This (the Grand Junction) Board desire to exproes te-
' the London and Birmingham Board their opinion that it
can tend to no possible good to treat the agreemene
as a subsisting agreement any longer."—(Loud cries if .
, " Hear, hear.") Therefore he had a right to say:thif
the London and Birmingham Directors were in a case of
doubt as to how they stood—(Cheers)---and therefore it
was that he had said they would not answer the queetiora - ..
of his Hon. Friend in the way he wished ; but Waite
Grand Junction Company were anxious to give a
guarantee for the upper part of the line—if they were
desirous of negotiating with them for that, an intimation •
had been given that they (the London and Birmingham
Board) were willing to accede to that. They had no
answer to that intimation. Let them remember that in -
that room they were London and Bisininghana Proprie-
tors. The proprietory had a right to see that the Di-
rectors did not involve the Company in difficulties. lii
this spirit the Directors had made the communication to
the Grand Junction Company with respect to: their ,
cumin.- in and guaranteeing for the upper part of the
line. It was for the London and Birmingham Company
to take care the broad guage did not occupy the part nf
the country referred to ; therefore the answer that his
mare to his Hon. Friend was this—that they had, .'
through the medium of one of his colleagues, noes .
present, opened a negotiation with the Grand Junction .
Company, and he (the Chairman) wonld be glad • if- he ..••
were shortly able to say that they had come to a proper .
conclusion on the subject.
Mr. PEASE suggested that the resolution should be al
lowed to rest mail the negotiation with the Grand Junc-
tion Company was closed.
A PROPRIETOR inquired whether there had not bean
time fur an answer from the Grand Junction Company
to the emeteenfeation spoken of by the Chairman?
The CHAIRMAN thought there had scarcely been time.
With respect to the suggestion or Mr. Pease, that Hoe.
Gentletnan not living in the part of the country to which
this discussion had reference, was perhaps not aware of
the fact that the Worcester Committee had been obliged
to occupy this ground at a very late period, Ind that
great energy and activity on their part were requisite.-
He did not hesitate to as that if the meeting had not; -
after the explanations the Directors had given, sufficieet'.
temtidence in them to give them the power of the gua-
rantee, .the Worcester Committee 7gutild. in his opinion,
be placed in such difficulty end doubt as to afford a de-
cided advantage to their rivals, and powerful rivals they
were, in that district.---(dear.)
After some further ()him-rations filen severof tit the
Preprietors,
Mr. tioss:er begged again to ask whether the Dirac':`
tors were verbally er by writing in possegsiou of any
reply to the proposal outdo to the Grand juncticat.."Coms*.,
patty, or if they knew anything of the views of that COI: -
patty am to the proposed Wolverhtunpton line ?
The CitAinNA X dial net exasaly know whether his
lion. Friend alluded to a commtinication Made to him
(the Chairman) by the Chairman of the Greed Junction
Company three or feur days ago. If he did, that cote-
muhication expressed a strong (*plaice] against the Wore -
cester and Wolverhampton line. Subsequent to that tr .
communication had been made to the London and Bit- .‘
minghtun Board, which he believed be might say had
led to a proposal from the Grand Junction, one portion
of which proposal consisted of an arrangement as to the
extension of the line from Worcester to Wolverhampton.
On that point the London and Birmingham Board were
..
quite willing, provided the other partite: with whom they
were connected agreed, to meet the Grand Junction
Company's views. • - -
Mr. BASiEI7 thought that, after what they had heard
from the chair, they might place, or at least they ought
to place, the fullest confidence in their hoard of Direc-
ters.—(Cheers.) Ho was sure they had great reason ti
do se.-e-((`,lieers.) seeing the disposition in certain quar-
ters to introduce the broad gauge, the adoption of which
would be most disastrous to the interests of the London
and Birmingham Proprietors, there could not, he
thought, be a doubt respecting the soundness of the
course they were now called upon to pursue.--(Cheers.) •
The resolution was then put and carried unanimously.
A PROPRIETOR said he understood the Grand Junc-
tion, the London and Birmingham, and the Manchester .
and Birmingham Companies were the parties who were
to carry out the Trent Valley line. The Birmingham- ..
and Manchester Company had taken 10,000 shares, and
in-a• circular he had received it was stated that the Lon-..
den and Birmingham Company had paid their own de-
posit. He wished to know the number of shares this
Company had in the line ?
The CHAinmAN said the Manchester and Birming-
ham, the Grand Junction, and the London and Birming-
ham Companies had all an equal interest, 10,000 shares:
being allotted to each.
The Prtorenron would
elike to know whether it was
intended to oppose the Churnet Valley line ?
The CHAIRMAN was not prepared to answer the ques-
tion. The London and Birmingham Board were only
one of the bodies representing the interests of the Treat
Valley line. .
After a few desultory observations from several a the
Proprietors,
The CHAIRMAN introduced tai the notice of the meet.•
ing a requisition that the Directors had received fruit
certain Proprietors resident at Liverpool, relative to the
differences between the London end Bitiniughate. awl
' the Grand Junction Companies, with respect to the
Churnet Valley line. After glancing at the tertninatio%
of negotiations between the Grand Junction and ite
Shrewsbury and Birmingham Company, which he taLid
he believed no one could regret so much as the Lontima
and Birmingham Company themselves, he went at some
length into the question between himself and lie. Mossy
ae to the latter gentleman's forgetfulness of his receipt of
a letter front him, and his answer to it, relative to the
dilt-rences between the two companies (the London and'
Birmingham and Ihe Grand ,1 unction). Ile (the Chair •
man) had sent to Mr. Moss a copy or the letter in question.
as well as of that gentleman's reply to it, and bad asked
him to do that which he (the Chairman) had thought be
would take ail early opportunity of riving----viz., stating
that there' was such a letter in existence. But what
situation was he (the Chairmen) now placed in ? The
answer to that request, for a simple act of justice to be .
done had led to a voluminous correspondence, and it WRP
now required that the whole of their private vorrespon-
dence shoula be published. lie (the Chairman) would
never consent to this. If the publication of prirateofti-
-1 dal correspondence between two such bodies as the Lon-
- don and Birmingham and the Grand Junction Companies
were tolerated, there would be an end of all free and
frank communication between them.—(Hear, hear.) '
The Chain-matt detailed the prompt. steps he bad taken
in communicating with Mr. Moss upon the suhject of
the letter particularly referred to, and concluded by ob.-
serving that, notwithstanding this, he had been tad
that he was time cause of the differeucas between the two..
Companies. All that he was anxious to prove was that
he wrote to Mr. Moss the letter which that gentleman
i had foreoasn the receipt of, and that that gentlemee
, bad also written an answer, which he ( Mr. Nloss) did
oot remember having sent. The Chairman then read
the requisition from certain of the .Liverpool share-
holders.

The requisitionists stated that they had so recently r 7
A ugust last heard, with the greatest satisfaction, the an-
nounet,ment made by the respertive Chairmen of the Lo-
ndon and 13irn.iiegham and G rend Junction Companies, that
en amicable agreemeet had been entered into on the 3d of
the previous month, for the protection of the property ..
and interests of truth bodies, and that the perinanenc::
of the good orking• of this vitally important agreement
was guaranteed to ilte Shareholders by a sound and use-
ful clause, leaving all the differences that might arise
between the parties to be adjusted by the arbitration .
eligible, proper, and disinterested persons to be by the
Companies nominated, and that they -t.he requisitionists)
had now to express their regret and surprise on learning
from Mr. Moss's statement at the Grand Junction Rail-
way Company's meeting, that this agreement had be-
come a nullity, in consequence of the Directors of the
London and Birmingham Railway declining to adhere to
the arbitration clauses upon the very first occasion for its
requirement, thus rendering this great safeguard inope-
rative. The requisitionists then required that an early
meeting, to take the matter into consideration, should
be convened.
Mr. MOSELT spoke at some length upon the reasons
which had induced the Liverpool Proprietors to send in
the requisition for a special meeting, to take iato
coaai-
deration the differences between the two Companies re-
specting the Churnet Valley line.
The CHIARMAN thought that, under present circum-
stances, it would not be well to enter into any lengthened
discussion on the subject. It was quite clear that if the
Directors of the London and Birmingham Company had
thought that the question raised on the Churuet Valley
line had come under the agreement of the 3d July, they
would have submitted to a reference, but they denied
that cases such as of the Churnet Valley line were
embraced in that agreement. it was not necessary for
them to say anything as to the merits of that line ; but
he would suppose a most eligible offer made to the Lon•
don and Birmingham Company, by which it was clear
their interests would be essentially promoted, but thet
unfortunately the project interfered with Grand Junc-
tion interests. Did the Proprietors of the London and
Birmingham Company consider that their Directors
would in such case have come before there with the
agreement. of the 3d July, and bound them for Over ti%
do that which would sacrifice their interests, and that.
not only at the expense of their revenue, but of their re-
ceipts, in Parliamentary opposition—(Loud cries of
" hlear,hear")—that they should Ie called upon to de.
tend, not their own property, but the property of the
Grand Junction Railway, by the terms of mutual 4c,
fence," which would not admit of a moment's discussion
To concur in a mutual defence" they must have mu-
tual interests, and this was not the fact iu the oase be
had put.—(Hear, and cheers.)
Mr. E. Mosei,v, in an able speech, expressed a Wish
that a termination to the differences between the tyro
Companies might he arrived at.
After some remarks from several of the Proprietors,

The CITAITUJAN thought they might collect from ‘9
had !wen said what the feeling of the Proprietors wits.--
(Hear.) He took it to be that they desired peace, lru
he did not understand that they desired peace at ail coat.
—(Cheers.) With respect to the position of affairs
tweet, the two Companies, he held in his hand a resolu-
tion
.passed at the London and Birmingham Board'oritho
previous day. He would read it, but it had not been
communicated to the Grand Junction Company. H• 1
hoped that Company would receive it in the spirit of
conciliation which had dictated it.—(Loud cheers.) Ho-
thought that with this declaration on his part the iiis•
cussion should close.—(Cheers.)
Mr. MOSLLY said that as he had originated the dis.•
cussion he thought it right to say that he wa,s perfetctly
satisfied with the Chairmen's explantition.-;4Cheert.‘