The Sun.
London, England, 1845-12-31 00:00:00

CANADA COMPANY.

The usual half-yearly General Meeting of the Proprie•
tors in the Canada Company was held yesterday, at
the Canada House, St. Helen's-place, Bishopsgate-street;
Mr. Charles Franks, Governor of the Corporation, in
the chair.

The SECRETARY having read the advertisement con-
vening the meeting,
The CHAIR3IAN said they had met there for the pur-
pose of declaring a dividend, and electing a director in
the room of Mr. Ambrose Humphreys. It would be as
well for them to dispose of the latter question first, and
if there was no objection to his doing so, he would pro-
pose that Sir John Easthope, Bart., M.P., be elected to
the vacant office.

This proposal having been unanimously adopted,
The CHAIRMAN said, the next business they had to
dispose of was the declaration of the half-yearly divi-
dend, the amount of which would be determined by the
accounts delivered to the Proprietary in March last for
the preceding year of 1844. The accounts for 1845
could not be made up till next March, but he could
assure them that everything they had heard from Canada
since the transmission of the account for 1844 was of
the most favourable character, and fully justified the
Directors in recommending that the dividend of six per
cent, be -continued.—(Hear, hear.) From all accounts,
the province itself had latterly made most extraordinary
progress in its improvements; indeed the change which
hod taken place in Canada during the last two years was
perfectly astonishing. There was a gentleman in that
room, their own Commissioner in Canada, a most active,
intelligent, and zealous officer, who could bear testimony
to the fact lie had just stated. Since he had come into
that room, an extract of a private letter from Canada
upon this subject had been banded to him,
and, with tha permission of the Proprietary, he
would read it. The letter was addressed to Mr.
Nidder, the Commissioner of the Company, from To-
ronto, and dated the 9th of November. It stated that
the harvest of Canada had proved most fruitful, and only
a small portion of wheat, the produce of the present
year, had been brought into the market. The murrain
had only partially affected the potato crop, and, on the
whole, the present had been the most prosperous year
Canada had yet known.—(Applause.) The Proprietors
were aware that the Company undertook to forward
the remittances of their settlers to this country, and it
might be satisfactory for them to know the amount
which had been transmitted in this way. Up to the 30th
of November last the number of remittances was 725,
and the amount 6,2971. 12s. 10d., being somewhere about
91. a piece upon the average number of settlers. The
amount deposited with the Company for remittal to
Canada was 23,000/., and the number of emigrants
who had arrived in Quebec in the present year was
23,369, being 5,035 more than the number of last year.
With these facts before them, the Directors felt them-
selves fully justified in recommending a continuance of
the six per cent, dividend, and he would beg leave to
move a resolution to that effect.
The resolution having been put from the chair, and
carried unanimously,
The CHAIRMAN said that concluded the business; but
before they separated he wished to make one or two
observations upon an undertaking which was closely
connected with their own interest. It would be remem-
bered that at a previous meeting he stated that it was
in contemplation to form a railway through the province
of Canaria, and it was deemed advisable that some of their
Dir. ctors should give it their support. Accordingly, he
and one or two of his brother Directors joined the Com-
pany, established in this country for the purpose he had
just mentioned, but they supported it upon the express
coialition that the railroad should not be a sectional
road, or to assist any particular interest, but that it
sh. old he a line calculated to benefit the whole province.
The: undertaking was proceeding steadily, and the shares
in it had been allotted to respectable men, who had taken
than up with the view of holding, and not of speculating in
Ciem. The English Company had united itself with a
Company formed in Canada, who bad obtained an Act
from the Local Parliament for making the line, and as a
proof of the estimation in which the undertaking was i
he4l in Canada, he might mention that a sum of 1,0001.
had been voted from the provincial funds towards it.
There was a competing Company in the field, who de-
puted Sir Allan M'Nabb to visit this country, to in-
duce capitalists to lend it their support, and the Com-
pany with which they were connected, finding that Sir
Allan 111-Nabb had secured the co-operation of some of
the mo.t highly respectable capitalists of England,
endeavoured to bring about an amalgamation ; but
he was sorry to say those gentlemen did
not think it expedient to unite with them, and the
Tor.nnto Company was proceeding quietly in its own
wa). The quantity of land disposed of since the last
aceeunts was 98,856 acres, and the money received by
the Company amounted to 29,366'. 15s. Bd.
The proceedings of the meeting terminated with a
vote of thanks to Mr. Nidder, the Commissioner, and to
the Chairman and Directors.

LINCOLNSHIRE AND EASTERN

COUNTIES RAILWAY.

A meeting of the shareholders of this Company was
held yesterday at the Guildhall Coffee-house, for the pur-
pose (.f explaining the atf.tirs of the Company. There
were about forty of the shareholders present.
The CHAIRMAN (Amhrose Moore, Esq., Director of the
London Joint-Stock Bank) inquired whether the meeting
would have any objection to have the names of those
pres-nt read, which, being answered in the negative, he
then said, that before proceeding to business, he con-
ceivvd it right to inform them that the question whether
the members of the public press should be admitted had
been before the provisional committee that morning, and
that they had expressed themselves favourable to their
wimiss:,:n. However, he considered it advisable to put
the matter to theta, and if there were any objection, to
lake the sense of the meeting on the same.
The meeting. were unanimously of the same opinion.
The CIIAIIIMAN then read the list, which contained no
less than 400 names

Mr. C►IARETIE said he would wish to hear the names
of the Managing Committee.
The CHAIRMAN then read the list, which contained
fifteen names, including those of Lord Charlesßeauclerk,
Thomas Bull, Esq., Richard Vocker, RI., J. Crear,
Esq., &c., seven of whom were present.
The CHAIRMAN said, that having taken the names of
the gentlemen present, they had better now proceed to
business. Hit was sorry to say that the communication he
had to make was not of a pleasant character. He need
say very little about the project itself for which the Com-
pany had been formed, as he considered the long list of
most respectable names which had just been read, was
sufficient evidence of the nature of the undertaking in
which they were engaged. Many of these were pro-
prietor.• of the property through which the line proposed
was to have passed, which showed that the scheme was
esteemed very highly.—(Hear, hear.) And he need ad-
vance no other proof of what he a-serted than the meet-
ings that were held in the districts through which it was to
pass. In July, he need hardly remind them, the
prospects of railway schemes were very favourable;
everything in the railway world presented so favourable
an app enlace, that no one could awieipate what had
taken pia ae or have been blamed for feeling the utmost
coat-Menet> in a scheme which promised so favourably a'
their, did.—(ilear.) With respec: to the public mind
shanty afterwards, he must say that a most sudden
and unforeseen change had taken place on the subject of
railway speculation. From July until the period when
the unlucky panic took place, he could confidently assert
that mailing wrong had taken place in the management.
Tlae Conn-into eof Management was not formed till the
middle cf October, ti►e Company being before that
period under the care of the Provisional Committee,
by whom all their affairs were managed. When
the Centruit!ce of Management Was formed nearb
the a hole of the expenses had been incurred, and he
could confidently assert that the allotment which they
had made was on the most equitable basis, and that they
merely reserved far the Committee of Management the
usual number of shares, namely, one hundred fur each
member, so that it was quite evident that no blame
could be attached to the executive of their Company.
After some further observations to the same effect, the
Cha'rtnan cone'uded by reading a financial statement
of the affairs of the Company, from which it appeared
that the claims against them, including the solicitor's
bill for over :3,0001, a sum of 2.0001 lent by the Com-
mittee of Mattagemont, and 16,0001 for surveying and
engineering charges, with the other incidental expenses,
amounted to 29.4811. 14s. Gd., while the receipts, in-
cluding about 8,0001 for shares, with the sum of 2,0001
lent, which was to be subtracted from the debit side,
were 1941 7s. lid., leaving a deficiency of 25,5341.05.2 d.
An option had been given to them to pay the whole
depo-it, but only ss. per share had been received.
Mr. Caonett—Who elected the Managing Corn-
mittea ?

The CHAIRMAN said he was elected to the chair by
thq other members of the Managing Committee, and
believed that thcro vas no meeting of the Provisional
Commitve for the purpose of electing the Managing
Committee.

Mr, CROUCH said lie would feel obliged by being in-
Amna?,l whether, when the Managing Committee were
app tinted, there was any indemnity given to the Pro-
visiunal Committee by the solicitors ?
The CHAIRMAN said he did not think it would be pru-
dent to answer the question, but if the Provisional Com-
mittee would appoint two or three gentlemen to investi-
gate the proct•edings that had taken place, every
informatnm would be afforded them ; and if that inves-
tigation did not prove satisfactory, he would then explain
the nature of the indemnity.
A long and rambling conversation followed on this
grie,tion, which terminated in the Chairman stating
that the registered promoter was Mr. Beckett, solicitor,
and that the indemnity offered was 10,000/, which, as it
did not meet the expenditure incurred, was upon eminent
legal advice not tccepted.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply to some other questions, said
that a series of resolutions had been suggested by the
Provisional Committee, which he would take the liberty
of reading to them. The Chairman then read the reso-
lutions, which were to the effect that all further pro-
ceedings in the undertaking should be discontinued, and
that the application to Parliament should be postponed
till the session after next; that an application should
•be made to the ellottees for ss. per share, and that
those pAy-ing should have a preference in any Company
which :night in future be established for the carrying
out of this scheme. It had been considered that if thu
sum be demanded, about at all events two hundred
persons would pay, which would realise a sum of 18,0001.,
while their liabilities were 27,0001.

The resolutions were then proposed and seconded,
and, after some discussion, agreed to.
It was also :Treed t ) that a committee should he ap-
pointed to effect an arrangement to secure the Manag-
ing Committee from the effects of law proceedings, and
that the money which should be devoted to this purpose
should be lodged in the kank of Messrs. Twining and Co.
Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and the
meeting separtto.