The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-11-26 00:00:00

PARIS AND ROUEN RAILWAY

On Wednesday a meeting of the English shareholders in
the Paris and Rouen Railway was held in the Clarendon-
rooms, South John-street, for the purpose of receiving a re-
Port from the English directors, of their examination of the
Yoe, and of the general affairs of the company. The meet-
ing was attended by a very numerous and respectable body
of shareholders.
On the motion of Mr. Charles Lawrence, John Moss,
Esq. of this town, was requested to take the chair.
Mr. Moss, in acceding to the proposition said, he should
have requested Sir John Easthope, who was present, to have
taken the chair, had it not been that twelve months ago he
presided at a meeting in this town, and that from the repre-
sentations then made, many were induced to become share-
holders in the undertaking. He should now, without further
observation, call for the report of the English directors to be
read.

Mr. SWIFT then read the report.
" In making their report to the English shareholders of the
Paris and Rouen Railway, the English directors think it best
to refer to the state in which matters stood when they last
met the proprietors in this town, on the 22nd of July of last
Year. The chambers of the French legislature had then
voted the law, authorising the construction of the railway,
which law only waited the signature of the king of the
French ; previously to which, however, it was felt expedient
to ascertain whether its terms were such as rendered its ac-
ceptance by the English shareholders desirable. Some mo-
difications which the law sustained in its passage through the
French legislative chambers were then discussed, and acqui-
esced in by the English shareholders, and the royal sanction
was in due course given.
" The statement, which had up to that time been submitted
to the English shareholders, both as to the cost of the rail-
way and its probable revenue, was such as had induced a
ready subscription for its shares. It appeared from the
report of Mr. Locke, who is by law the appointed engineer
in chief of the company, that the cost, both of constructing
and equipping the line (80 miles in length), would lie about
£1,610,000 ; that, from the best information which could
then be obtained, the land would cost £150,000 ; and that
allowing for legal and engineering expenses,—for the pay-
ment of-interest during the period of construction,—for all
charges of direction, and for all other contingencies which
unavoidably occur in such undertakings, the whole expendi-
ture would be amply met by the capital then provided, of
£2,000,000 sterling.
`• The English directors deem it to be important on this
occasion to refer thus briefly to the aspect of things, when
the English shareholders accepted the terms of the law ; and
the directors adopt this course in order to represent the gra-
tifying fact that, up to the present time, when three-fourths
of the land is purchased,—nearly all the works contracted
for and in operation,—the whole of the rails and chairs
needful to complete the line also contracted for, as well as
the whole of the engines necessary to work it when com-
pleted, still there is nothing to generate a doubt of the suffi-
cieney of the capital, or to give rise to the slightest appre-
hension that its amount of £2,000,000 will be exceeded.
"At ageneralassembly of the proprietors, which was held in
Paris eight days after the meeting above referred to, the law
authorising the construction of the railway was unanimously
accepted. At the same meeting Mr. Reed, who had been so
efficient as secretary to the London and South Western Rail-
way Company, was appointed one of the directors at the
board in Paris, there to reside and to devote the whole of his
valuable services to the concerns of the company. Subse-
quent political events slightly retarded the operations of the
company; but in the course of the autumn the surveys ne-
cessary for the production of detailed plans of the land re-
quired, and the works proposed, were prosecuted with all
that energy which the engineer of the company is known to
Possess. From time to time the English directors were ad-
vised by their French colleagues of the progress of the works,
and in the early part of last month they determined on visit-
ing France and inspecting; hem, with a view of reporting to
the shareholders the result of that inspection. It is for the
purpose of making the shareholders acquainted with that re-
sult that this meeting is called.
".Having proceeded to Paris, and received from the French
directors and the officers of the company the most unreserved
explanations upon all those matters which relate to in-doors
operations ; the English directors were accompanied by the
engineer-in-chief and the secretary of the company on an in-
spection of the works. Leaving Paris they proceeded to the
bridge at Bizons, which is in course of construction across
the Seine, and which is not very far from the junction with
the St. Germain Railway. This bridge is of ten arches of
100 feet span each ; and all the piers (which are of stone),
are already built up to the level of the springing of the
arches. The timber work for the upper structure is also
Preparing, and a great number of workmen are engaged in
constructing the towing-path and other contingent works.
From this bridge the embankment extends nearly a mile to
the cutting at Houille, which is also about a mile long, and
the embankment then continues to the river at Maisons,
where another large bridge is in progress. These bridges,
and the earth work between them, constitute the most im-
portant part of the whole work. The cutting at Houille has
been delayed for want of the land, but it is now in active pro-
gress ; several of the under bridges in the adjoining embank-
ment are built; at each end of the cutting the earth is being
removed, and the whole of this work is proceeding with
great energy. The Maison's Bridge, like that of Bigons,
has all the piers ready for receiving the arches, and
centres are placed in one arch for throwing over
the ribs of timber which is to carry the Railway.
Tanks for preserving the timber are built, and every
preparation made for prosecuting simultaneously all the
various parts of the work. A little beyond the bridge
the line enters a cutting from eight to twelve feet deep,
which continues for a considerable distance into the forest of
St. Germain. In this cutting, and close to Maison's, a
three-arch bridge is built, at which point the station for
Maison's is fixed. On the west of the St. Germain forest,
and in the neighbourhood of Poissy, the work is not heavy ;
but it is already commenced in several places. From Poissy
to Mantes, about 20 miles, the work is under contracts, but
there is not yet much work done ; the heaviest portion is at
the town of Mantes, which was commenced on the day the
directors passed through. About five miles west of Mantes is
the great tunnel of Rolleboise, where considerable progress
has been made both in the driftways and in the excavations
at each end. A large retaining wall has been built at the
east end, and at the west end, which is near to the village of
-°,POnieres, a bridge across the turnpike road is now in course
of construction. To this point, about 40 miles from Paris,
the works are under contracts. The tunnels at Venables
were next visited. They are in a very advanced state. The
easternmost tunnel is a mile long. By walking through the
drift way from end to end an opportunity was afforded of
seeing the strata. There is another tunnel at this place 400
yards long, where the driftway is already completed, and the
open cutting between the two is proceeding. Both tunnels
ere through chalk, perfectly dry, and easily worked. The
works are very slight between this place and Le Mauvir,
where a bridge similar to those before mentioned is building
across the Seine, but the piers there are not placed in the
river--the same may be said of the bridge at Oissel, which
is a few miles nearer to Rouen. Near to this latter bridge
the tunnel at Tourville, about 500 yards long, is being cased
with brick work, the driftway being already completed. At
all the tunnels the brick work is started. The line from
Oissel to Rouen was not let at the time of this inspection,
but it has since that time been contracted for on reasonable
terms.

" Mr. Locke, who is present, will inform you that the
works thus visited form a very large proportion of the whole
—that those which remain uncontracted for are of a very
light character, and it is confidently expected that the con-
tracts for them will be concluded within a month from
the present time. The English directors believe, therefore,
that they are warranted in conveying to the shareholders
their full conviction that the cost of the entire work is within
a very narrow margin, defined and certain. It may here be
observed that, with the exception of one bridge, the whole of
these works are let to two English contractors of known re-
spectability and capital—viz., Mr. William Mackenzie and
Mr. Thos. Brassey ; who, in addition to the guarantee which
is afforded by their character and their property, give posi-
tive security for the due execution of the works within a
prescribed time. These gentlemen leave also in the hands
of the company 5 per cent. of the value of the work done,
that is to say, they receive only £95 for every £lOO certified
as being due to them by the engineer of the company, the
remaining £5 being retained as a security for the final and
substantial completion, to be paid to them after the opening
of the railway. Moreover, Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Brassey,
having from their own observation become convinced of the
advantages which must ultimately arise to the shareholders
on this line, have arranged with the directors to invest this 5
per cent. in 1700 shares of the company—such shares to be
handed over to them instead of money at the period when
otherwise that money would become payable to them, and in
the mean time to be held in trust for them by the directors.

" The directors cannot quit this part of their report without
adverting again to the position of this company in respect to
the work when the last meeting of English shareholders was
held. It will be recollected by those who were present on
that occasion that Mr. Locke, with his usual prudence, de-
clared with respect to the estimates, that the only difficulty
he felt concerning them arose from his not knowing the value
of French labour'—and to this it may be added that the
directors had, in common with Mr. Locke, some doubts
whether the experience of English workmen could be com-
bined with those of France, and especially whether the two
classes of labourers, French and English, could agree so as
to act together as to prosecute the works with that expedition
which in England is required in railway undertakings. All
apprehension of difficulty on this subject is now at an end.
It is true that, in the competition for contracts, the English
contractors have, by reason of their greater experience and
consequently increased ability to appreciate such works, been
much lower in their tenders than the French contractors ;
but so far as the workmen are concerned nothing can be more
satisfactory. Not only do the French labourers work har-
moniously with the comparatively small number of English-
men whom the contractors have felt it necessary to send over
to France, in order to show how works of this sort are con-
ducted, but in some of the operations, particularly in the
formation of the tunnels, the French workmen are not satis-
fied unless they are associated with Englishmen.

" In the previous part of this report it is stated that three-
fourths of the land is purchased, and it is fully expected that
within three months from the present time the whole of the
land will be in the possession of the company. Those who
are acquainted with the minute subdivision of property
in France, and the immense number of proprietors with
whom the company would therefore have to deal, were not
without fear that these circumstances would impede the
operations of the company, and present almost innumerable
instances of that extortion to which railroad companies
have been subjected to by landed proprietors in England.
But this has not been the case. The French law requires
that various forms shall be complied with, local inquiries
made, and positive proof adduced, that the land is really re-
quired for a work, which has been declared by the legislature
to he one, of public usefulness. The compliance with these
forms involves delay, but it does not occasion much ex-
pence; appeals to juries are not frequent, nor are those
appeals attended with anything like the same expence as in
ngland ; there are few large landed proprietors, and these
few do not generally ask unreasonable terms from the com-
pany,

•
" The rails and chairs are all contracted for. The iron is
of excellent quality, and, although it is much dearer than in
England, the cost doe's not exceed the estimate.

"Far the greater part of the engines used on the few French
railroads already constructed have been made in England,—
the efforts of the French manufacturers of locomotive
engines having hitherto been unsuccessful. The directors
felt it right therefore to entertain a proposition made to
them by an English party who offered to establish them-
selves as a company at Rouen, and there to build, according
to plans and drawings approved by Mr. Locke, all the
engines required by the company at a stipulated price. As
by this means the import duty, and the heavy expence of
freight from England, are avoided, the directors, acting under
the advice of their engineer, have contracted with this corn-
luny, and the engines are now in course of construction at
Rouen, The concern is under the management of Mr. All-
oard, known to many present as formerly one of the engineers
en the Liverpool and Manchester and Grand Junction Rail-
ways, and of Mr, Buddicoin, who, until he went to France
eXpressly for this purpose, was the manager of the locomotive
department on the Grand Junction Railway.

- - -
" The works are contracted to be finished at various
Periods,—the latest on the Ist of March, 1813,—little more
than fifteen months from the present time ; and there is no
doubt that the line may be opened as early in the spring of
that year as circumstances render desirable.

" As to the traffic, the English directors have little to add
to the statements formerly made. The very careful statis-
tical report originally prepared by Mr. Reed, aided by Mr.
Chaplin, shewed that the present passenger and parcel traffic
would alone, at French railway prices, produce £305,000 per
?nutitu. The quantity of goods carried by land, as well as
water, is immense. This railroad has one terminus in
the capital of France, and the other in the greatest manufac

turing district of the kingdom, stretching towards the most
important commercial port, and holding out facilities for
transport to nearly four millions of inhabitants. It must be
borne in mind that of the capital of two millions sterling,
the French government lend £560,000, at 3 per cent. inte-
rest, repayable in thirty equal annual payments, the repay-
ment commencing in July 18-18. Placing, therefore, the in-
terest on the £560,000 as part of the current expenses of
working the line, the profit will have to be divided upon a
capital of X 1,440,000 only—a sum unprecedentedly small for
80 miles of railway. Nor is it expected that the cost of
maintaining or working this line will be large. The works,
with the exception of the tunnels and the bridges across the
Seine. are of an unusually light character, and the nature of
the material is everywhere of the very best description.
With the exception of the article of coke, all other expenses
of working the line will be small,—it being found, on all the
lines hitherto made in France and on the Continent gene-
rally, that the number of passengers per train is much greater
than in England ; and it is almost unnecessary to add, that
on this, more than on anything else, depends the actual cost
to the company of conveying passengers, and consequently
the degree of profit.

" The English directors cannot give a greater proof of their
confidence in the success of the line, than by the statement
of the fact that they now hold more shares than they have
done at any lormer period.
" As respects the financial position of the company, the
English directors have to state, that, although there is in
hand nearly £400,000, yet the rapidity with which the works
are now carrying on, in order to their completion by the spe-
cified time, makes it imperative that the expenditure he large
also at very early periods. The £560,000, which is lent by
the government, will not be advanced until the whole
£1,440,000 raised in shares is fully paid up : the last of the
calls to make up this £1,440,000 cannot be made before the
month of October next, leaving only a very short time to ob-
tain from the government, and to expend, the remaining sum
of £560,000. It is evident that to incur any delay in open-
ing the line, by suffering arrears of calls to remain unpaid,
would be inconsistent with the best interests of the concern.
The English directors feel it therefore to be their duty to
press for the punctual payment of all calls; they hope they
may be spared the necessity of resorting to the power given
them by the law for enforcing payment of calls in a concern
which promises such great advantages at so early a period ;
but they deem it to be their duty at once to state their deter-
mination not to suffer the concern to sustain damage by any
delay in the payment of the subscribed capital. It may here
be added that the calls on the shares held in France are
promptly paid. Flaying now set forth the facts, and the
opinions which are the result of their late visit to France, it
remains only for the English directors to add that they were
treated with the most entire frankness and cordiality by their
French colleagues, with whose diligent attention and econo-
mical administration the English directors were highly gra-
tified.

(Signed,)

JOHN EASTHOPE.
JOHN MOSS.
CHAS. LAWRENCE
W. CHAPLIN."

The CHAIRMAN said, this was the report which the direc-
tors had felt it their duty to make to the shareholders. In
making it, it must, of course, be understood that they had
obtained their information from gentlemen eminently fitted
to give it, namely, Mr. Locke, Mr. Chaplin, Mr. Reid, and
others ; and he was very glad to have the pleasure of saying,
that those gentlemen, being present, would confirm what the
directors had stated. Of course thedirectors would be happy
to answer any questions which the shareholders might think
proper to put. In the meantime, he called upon Mr. Locke
to state his views as to the certainty of completing the un-
dertaking within the time allotted to it.

Mr. LOCKS, who came forward amidst much applause, com-
menced by observing that what he could say in addition to
the report just read would be very little, because nothing that
he could say could be more distinct than the report itself.
When he had the pleasure of attending a meeting in that
building twelve months ago, he did not feel so certain as to
the cost of making this railway as he did now. Two-thirds
of the entire works had been let, and from the prices at which
they had been taken, he felt no hesitation in saying that the
capital subscribed would be rather more than ample for their
entire completion. (Hear, hear.) Indeed he might tell the
shareholders that at that moment with £240,000 worth
unlet, and with £600,000 let, he had an offer to guarantee the
entire completion of the line for a sum of money less than he
had set down in the estimates. (Hear, hear.) He did not
think it necessary to accept that offer, because he thought it
was better to let it ; but it enabled him to speak with perfect
confidence as to the total construction of the railway. For
engines, stations, coaches, or what he called the stock of the
line, there was in the estimate £350,000, and he would leave
it to any gentleman to say whether that was not large enough,
economically used for such a purpose. He thought it was :
he thought it more than sufficient : he did not think they
should spend it; and when all the entire works were finished,
they would have £350,000 to be carried towards the stock of
the concern. With regard to time, which was one of the
questions the chairman had put, the contracts hitherto let,
(and they were the heaviest works on the line), were to be
entirely finished by the Ist of March, 1843. There had been
some difficulty and delay in obtaining possession of the land.
They had not certainly gone on so fast as they hoped and be-
lieved they should, having been prevented by the want of
possession. This must occur again, and therefore he spoke
less confident with regard to the question of time than with
regard to the question of estimates. He had no doubt that
the work would be finished in less time than had been named ;
but lest any unforeseen circumstance should occur, he wished
to speak upon this point with his usual caution. Having had
the fullest opportunity of seeing the line, and what it was ca-
pable of, he could say a great deal more than was said in the
report. (Hear.) It was impossible for any one to see it,
and to see the traffic upon it, and feel the slightest doubt
about its eventual success. (Applause.)
Tne CHAIRMAN, after complimenting Mr. Locke, and
and alluding to the necessity of rigour in the prosecution of
the works, said that Mr. Reed could give the meeting some
information as to the difficulties there had been in obtaining I
possession of the land. With regard to the cost he (the
chairman) felt no doubt. The Grand Junction Line, about
which he might be supposed to know more than about any
other, really and truly, including every thing, had not cost
£20,000. If the Grand Junction could be finished for
£20,000 a mile, and he could find nothing on this line worse
or more expensive than on the Grand Junction, for there was
only one station to be built, the Paris station being like that
of the Grand Junction at Liverpool, he should think it would
not cost £23,000 per mile—that indeed there would be some-
thing left out of that. (Hear.) He was quite convinced that
the shareholders would pot be called upon for any more
money. (Cheers.) If they looked at the bill, they would
find that there was no power to borrow one farthing. The
French government, unlike the English, did not allow the
shareholders to borrow upon their land a certain sum of
money ; but with that which they had they must finish the
line, and he felt confident they would do it. (Applause.)
Mr. REED said that with regard to the land the directors
had something to learn as to the mode practised in France
of obtaining possession. The government of France were
very justly jealous of the rights of landowners. The act of
parliament, which was contained in four pages of the book
which he held in his hand, merely recognised the principle
and the public usefulness of constructing a railway from A.
to 8., from Paris to Rouen, but did not define where the
line should go. It did not limit you, as railway bills in
England did, to fifty yards deviation on one side or the
other ; it merely gave you power to make a line through
certain communes or parishes from one place to another.
But the government, although they did not insist that you
should prove before a committee of the houses of parliament
the special line, and define the land with which you wish
to have the power to interfere, took care of the rights of the
landowner, by an after view of your plan ; and railway
companies in France were obliged to submit, in very great
detail, as Mr. Locke knew to his great trouble, in a very great
multiplicity of plans, not only of all the land required, but
of all the works to be constructed. This had to pass through
several judicial ordeals • and as regarded the land it had next
to go through the ordeal of an ordinary committee. This
committee next was summoned after the plans had been ap-
proved by the Board of Government Works; and there, any
objections which individual landowners, or public functionaries
might have to the proposed line were heard. The report of
this committee was next made to the government; and after-
wards you got the urrt of the Prefect of the department
which gave you the power of taking the land. But they had
to assign not only their entire line along the map, but also
what land they should want ; they had to say within a perch
how much land they should want, the parish where it was,
and from that they must not deviate, or if they did the devi-
ation occasioned them the trouble of going through the
whole process again. He need not tell gentlemen that Mr.
Loche, or any other engineer of equal talent, would necessarily
have a great deal of trouble in so defining the land as to
have no after consequences of a troublesome character, which
would be consequent upon any future deviation from the plan ;
and therefore that the preparation of all the details and plans
for afterwards being revised by the authorities, should occupy
time, was not to be wondered at. The wonder was, that,
how, going strange, as they did, into a foreign country, with
all the prejudices of former habits, they should have gone
through those forms in the time they had. He believed he
might say that that was done in an unexampled short
space of time, and that the French authorities had taken
great pains to step out of their way to oblige them, merely
because they were an English company. (Hear, hear.) The
meeting would gather from what had been said, that time
was necessary, in order to get possession of the land, but
that period had now elapsed. Though it took between five
and six months to get possession of the first acre, the whole
processes had been going on, and the company were now in a
condition to demand possession of the whole. Indeed, whilst
he was now speaking, the whole fifty-two communes through
which the railway passed, and the committee of enquiry, had
reported to the government upon the whole. The ground
wanted for the station at Rouen had been approved by the
Town Council and Chamber of Commerce, and the directors
had reason, non-officially, to believe that government ap-
proved of the plan. Therefore, though delay had taken
place from time to time, that delay would not occur again,
and Mr. Locke had no reason to expect that there would be
any future delay in the completion of the works. (Hear, hear.)
He was happy when he arrived in London, to find this distant
and little known railway excited the attention of the press,
for he found that week after week there was some notice of
it in the railway papers of this country. (Hear, hear.) He
saw in one or either—or both of them in fact—articles with
regard to the purchase of the land for this railway. Those
gentlemen who were in the habit of reading the railway pa-
pers would see the juries with which the directors had to do
took a just and proper view of the case. In one paper it said
that as to the forest of St. Germains the directors had had a
contest before the jury. Now he was happy to be able to
state, that with regard to the forest of St. Germains they did
not go before a jury at all, except as a matter of form, an ar-
rangement having been made between the company and the
government as far as pecuniary matters went. They went
through the royal forest of St. Germains three miles and a
half, through a part where there was a large quantity of
growing timber ; they took forty-two acres of the royal land,
six acres and a half being required for a deposit ; and for
this land they paid 55,000 franci, and they contracted for
additional works in order to facilitate the undertaking, which
would cost £1,500 more. Looking at the whole cost of this
land—the £2,200 which was represented by the 55,000 francs,
and the £l,soo—it was £3,700 for three miles and a half of
land. But he could tell the meeting that this sum was
agreed upon previous to going before a jury, that they went
there as a matter of form, and to be sure that the different
departments should not quarrel which department should
have such and such a share ; and he thought the shareholders
would agree that this was fair and honourable on the part of
the directors. Upon the Southampton Railway, where
economy was practised as much as anywhere, the land cost
at least £3,500 a mile; but he did not think that the whole
land for the Paris and Rouen Railway would cost much more,
if any, than half of that money. With regard to the legal ex-
penses of obtaining the land, he would say they were satisfac-
tory. The government had given the company exemption from
the duty, which, it must be added, was a statuteable duty upon
conveyances. A conveyance was inexpensive; a nominal duty
of a franc for every one had to be paid, but it was rather
lucky the company had the exemption, for not unfrequently
he had signed so many as four hundred, and this occurred
something like once a fortnight. (Cheers.) He did not
know that he could say anything more with regard to land,
or anything else, as the report of the English directors con-
tained so full an account of all their doings, and for that
reason little remained to be said; but it perhaps might be
thought that after a residence in France of some year and a
half he ought to have formed some opinion as regarded the
traffic to be expected on the line. He was happy in being en-
abled to state, that nothing whatever—that no circumstance
which had passed around him had tended to shake his faith
—that the figures, and the amount put down in the first re-
port would certainly be realised—that the traffic would at
least amount to the sum there put down. (Hear, hear.) It
might be thought extraordinary that such a line, in such a
country, which was not proverbial for its commercial enter-

prise, should be found where iraffi c should be even more
abundant than upon any road in England. But if the parti-
cular circumstances of the line were taken into considera-
tion, the thing explained itself. Taking the whole sea board
of France upon the English channel, Havre was the only
commercial port of the slightest consequence. Independently
of being the port of the metropolis, it was the only commer-
cial port. Let a ship arrive from any part of the western
world,from England,or even the southern coast of France itself,
to Havre they must go. One case which had come under
his own observation was this. Many of the rails to be used
on this line were made at a place a hundred miles north of
Marseilles. Marseilles lay direct south from Paris. The
shortest line of transit would be to send these rails by canal
or otherwise to Paris, but the fact was, instead of being sent
north to Paris, were sent north to Marseilles, there to be
shipped ; they were then brought through the straits of Gi-
braltar to the port of Havre, and thence conveyed to the
railway. Nothing, he thought, could better prove the exten-
sive usefulness of that port than this fact. It was the only
means of approaching the capital with things of bulk, not
only of foreign ports, but even from their own coast. In
like manner the wine of Bordeaux was not sent to Paris by
land, but it was shipped there to Havre, and thence sent to
Paris. By and by he hoped it would be conveyed by this
railway. (Hear.) The revenue of the railway, too, would
be materially helped by the imperfect navigation which the
Seine afforded. During the summer time very commodious
steam-packets were fitted up for the convenience of passen-
gers, but they really did not run more than five months in
the year. In the early part of the month of May they had
scarcely started, and before October they had ceased to run,
and not one of them was now plying. The consequence of
this uncertain medium of transit was, that a great part of the
goods as well as passengers, was sent by land; and surely it
was nothing more than certain that they would be able to
take goods by railway cheaper than by common carts. Im-
mense quantities of goods did go by these carts now; and
he saw no reason why they should not take the whole of
them, and also abstract a portion from the river. However, if
they only took that which now travelled by land, they would
take more than any line of railway in England, or, he be-
lieved, any other in the world. (Applause.)
The CHAIRMAN said the meeting must feel much obliged
to Mr. Reed for the explanations he had just given. lie
(the Chairman) had seen it reported that there were some
differences between the French and English directors ; but
he was quite sure that nothing of that kind had ever oc-
curred between them. (Hear.) They went on together in
perfect harmony. Of course little differences in opinion
would occur : but lie might say that, although we English
directors had power to vote by proxy in the committee, they
had never once sent their proxies ; therefore there could not
have been any very great differences. He was sorry that he
was in ill health in Dover when his friends visited the works
in France, and therefore could not go there ; but Sir John
Easthope would state in what manner they had been re-
ceived by the French directors,

Sir JOHN EASTHOPE, Bart., said he could have no diffi-
culty at all in stating, which was of much more importance to
gentlemen composing a meeting for business purposes, that
the English directors were received by their French colleagues
with perfect frankness. They were admitted into that close
and thorough investigation, without any apparent reserve, or
any manifestation of doubt, that men of business all liked,
and which generated mutual confidence. (Hear.) It was
quite obvious that there had been certain matters upon
which they, with there notions of business, and with their
views formed as they were in a commercial city, differed from
their French colleagues. They stated those differences ;
they were heard with great frankness and kindness ;
they left them, the French directors having submitted to
some changes in reference to those matters—the details of
which it would be scarcely usual for him to explain; and he
believed he could very safely say, that they left them under a
conviction, that in those things the English directors were
right. Every thing was now arranged to their satisfaction.
The whole of the shares had stood now fully subscribed for
in Paris at par ' • and there was not an unappropriated share
connected with the concern. The English directors had had
an opportunity of witnessing that there was a general punc-
tuality in the payment of calls. Generally the shares there
were very much divided ; it was an unusual thing for an in-
dividual to hold a very large number ; and he believed, as far
as his observation, and the information he could collect,
served him, he believed he might safely say that the capital
subscribed in France was subscribed by a class that was
likely to pay the calls, and that they might be considered as
exceedingly well held. That was the general report which he
received, and every thing he had an opportunity of observing
justified that opinion. With regard to the personal diligence
of their French colleagues, he could assure the meeting that
they would be an example to English directors, for they did
not attend simply once a week, or once a month, but they
considered it their daily business. Go at almost what
time of day they (the yEnglish directors) always found
some of their colleagues in the office. (Hear, hear.)
They always found them attending to some business
which had been apportioned to them ; and upon the
days of meeting, which were twice a week, he did
not remember that there was one absent, unless it
was the chairman, who was a gentleman of advanced years
and who, from his advanced age and increasing infirmities,
was scarcely capable of attending to any business. With
that exception—and he (Sir John Easthope) understood he
had withdrawn much from business engagements, they found
zeal and earnestness upon the part of every member of the
French board. He had before stated that there was, what was
of infinitely more importance to men of business than agree-
able manners ; there was that perfect sincerity, that becoming
frankness, that great anxiety, that punctuality, diligence, and
faithfulness in the discharge of their duties which gave the
English directors a good opinion of the intentions of the in-
dividuals with whom they were embarked—because, after all,
if they were associated with persons of light character and
defective morals, it must be manifest that alt the surpervision
and all the checks they could interpose would be-unavailing
for the purpose of practical security. These gentlemen were
identified with the English shareholders in interest; and
they were men of high character in France. They had iden-
tified their character with this concern, and he believed they
' had before them a concern which held out not only very
ample profit in return for the capital embarked in it, but he
believed they were engaged in a concern that in some degree
promised a higher and more excellent end than that of mere
gain. He believed that this concern would tend to establish
that good opinion between the two countries, the natural
result of which was, not only to bring the labourers of the
two countries into contact but into harmony, by promoting
a connection of their mutual interest. (Hear.) It would
tend to display skill in that simple and practical form by
which the people of the two countries would form a better
opinion of each. He believed it would have still higher
ramifications ; that it would teach the two countries that
their happiness, their power, and the good which both should
consult and aim at, was to be attained by the promotion of
their mutual interests ; that it would diffuse the sentiment
that more was to be gotten by advancing that which would
advance the good of both, than by rival interests pursued by
narrow feelings, and advocated by doubtful means. (Hear,
hear.) He knew that the enlightened man who was at the
head of the administration of the foreign affairs of France
had very much in view, in the encouragement which he gave
to this concern, that it would tend to establish amicable re-
lations between the two countries. He knew that that sen-
timent proved his anxiety for its support and prosperity.
He told the meeting frankly, that this was one of the leading
considerations which had induced him (Sir John Easthope)
to engage in it. He did not affect to be indifferent to coin-
mercial returns, being, as he was, sprung from commerce ;
but he did tell them—and his friends who were present could
tell them the same—that being about to retire from business
engagements, he was anxious not to engage in anything fur-
ther. He was determined by the circumstance of this rail-
way tending to advance the interests of another railway with
which he was connected, but most of all by the conviction
that it would tend to advance the great, high, and permanent
interests of both countries, by advancing the prosperity of
each. (Hear, hear.) With that sentiment of this concern,
he embarked in it. The way in which it had been carried
on, and the confidence in it shewn by English proprietors,
who, in times of difficulty and embarrassment, submitted
to the danger of paying their money, because they had made
an engagement—(hear, hear) ; (for it would be within the
recollection of gentlemen present that when they had to make
their first payment there was an unhappy collision between
the two countries upon points it would be unnecessary for
him to dilate upon, but they considered they had made an
engagement, and therefore like English men of business and
British merchants, they resolved to fulfil those engagements)
—had had a happy influence upon the French. (Hear.)
The skill carried into the concern, the comparative economy,
the great exertion, indeed all: he elements by which it would
be accomplished for a smaller sum of money, in a smaller
space of time than had been customary, would, he was con-
vinced, be a very happy means of establishing a good feeling,
and most cordially did he wish it should be a permanent
feeling, between the country of France and that of Great
Britain. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN said if there was in the country one per-
son more capable than another of knowing and appreciating
the value of traffic, it was his friend Mr. Chaplin. He had
been over the line ; and he believed that Mr. Chaplin would
state to the meeting that it would make a very good return.
Mr. CHAPLIN said that after what had passed scarcely
any thing he could say would be worth attention ; but as
the Chairman had particular tact in fixing responsibility both
upon his colleagues as well as his officers, he was bound to
say something. He went to Paris with his friends, in the
employment to which the Chairman had alluded ; he took a
very careful review of the traffic ; and he saw no reason in
any shape or way for departing from the data which had
been laid down by himself and Mr. Reed upon a former
occasion. Every portion, he considered, was flattering in the
extreme, and an increase rather than a decrease might be ex-
pected. The meeting was quite aware that apart from coach
or diligence traffic it was difficult to make a statement that
any man could swear to, because the wine came from distant
parts and at certain seasons; the fruit was also dependant
upon the season ; and it was impossible to stand and take
them down in that minute detail which could prove it. He
could, therefore, only refer the meeting to the authorities
quoted upon a former occasion for making the railway, and
they were the officials of all the towns upon the line and of
the various districts. These being men of importance, of
influence, and of character, there could be no doubt of the
facts. But if they looked only at the positive stage coach
traffic, and give it the proportion of increase that railway
facilities had produced in England, there could not be the
shadow of a doubt of its realizing all that had been said.
There was one question that had arisen upon which it af-
forded him much satisfaction in giving his opinion, and that
was the question of how far the French might be of suf-
ficiently locomotive habits as to justify an anticipation of
that multiplication of trade in France which had taken place
in England. The two railways he was most conversant with
were that of St. Germains and that of Orleans. It was true
there might be an undue attraction in the former place which
suited the pleasurable habits of the Parisians • but during
their visit to France they went to Corbeille, which was the
first station on the Orleans line and twenty miles from
Paris, and here the case was different. This line had now
been opened twelve months. There was no great attraction
upon it, for it passed through an agricultural district, to a
small town something like Stafford; and it maintained a high
state of competition with steam-boats upon the canal. The
result of that line—though here there was no St. Cloud, no Ver-
sailles, or Paris—was that it produced £l3OO in the latter week
of September. Comparing this with the English practise, he
had much satisfaction in his calculation of the traffic. These
were his opinions, and his confidence in the undertaking was
unabated.

Mr. LAWRENCE said there was a feeling in Rouen that a
bridge near there which had been let Co a French contractor,
would not be executed within the required time. If this were
so, it might impede the entire communication; and he begged
to call Mr. Locke's attention to it.

Mr. LociE—sa-id he fiad had a similar report made to him,
but in the present state of the contract it would be difficult
for him to interfere. The party had given security that the
contract should be performed in due time, therefore, at pre-
sent he had no right to assume that he did not intend to fulfil
it. He had himself doubts of the power of the French con-
tractors to execute any work of this kind within the time
given. However, if he did not seem likely to do it within
the time the company had a right to expect, he (Mr. Locke)
would take means to ensure its being done by other hands.
Mr. B ARNE]) said, there was a part of the report which
might be easily explained he knew, but which at present gave
rise to some misconception. In alluding to the contractors, as
evincing their high opinion of the success of the under-
taking, it was stated that with regard to the deposits which
they were compelled to leave in the hands of the directors,
as a security for the fulfilment of their contracts, that those
deposits would be invested in shares, and that the number
of shares reserved would be 1,700. It might be well to
know whether the directors had, as public officers, shares
which they could devote to the fulfilment of this wish, or
whether the deposit was to be employed in the purchase of
shares in the market. The meeting had upon the one hand
a statement by the worthy director (Sir John Easthope), who

' had satisfactorily explained the positioYi of matters in France
—that all the capital was there subscribed, but as there were
two descriptions of capital, English and French, he should
wish to know whether the whole capital was subscribed for,
and whether the shares had been appropriated.
Sir JOHN EASTHOPE said, that as this question had arisen
in consequence of what he had stated, he might be permitted
to explain. There were a certain number of unappropriated
shares in Paris, and that was one of the subjects to which the
attention of the French directors was specially applied.
These shares were now appropriated—being a part of the
1700. They were taken by Mr. Mackenzie and Mr. Brassey
at par, although the price in the market was below par. That
did not amount to the entire sum they were required to de-
posit, and the remainder would have to be purchased as the
English directors might consider was suitable ; but there was
not one unappropriated share either in France or England.
There were a few shares in England, and he was not quite
sure whether there were not a few in France upon which only
one call had been made. It would of course be the duty of
the English directors to insist upon the calls being paid. The
number was very trifling, and he did not apprehend the being
in existence of one share upon which only one call had been
paid for many days from this time.

The CHAIRMAN rose to state the reason why there were
any shares unappropriated. Certain shares were allotted for
the City of Rouen ; and the City of Rouen passed a resolu-
tion that they would guarantee any persons who took those
shares four per cent. Before the guarantee was executed the
shares got into a little discredit; and the law itself would not
allow the city to guarantee.
Sir J,EASTHOPE.—They have now.

The CHAIRMAN resumed. The consequence was that
those shares came back to the board of directors, and Mr.
Mackintosh mid Mr. Brassey were anxious to get them.
They said they should be glad to take them at par; and the
shares were applied in the names of three parties, of whom
the chairman was one.

Mr. ALTCAR having stated that he should be ready with
the engines for the line at the time he had contracted for.
Mr. BARNED expressed his satisfaction at the explana-
tions just given, and moved a vote of thanks to the chairman
and to the English directors.

Mr. Moss returned thanks, and strongly recommended all
parties who held shares to keep to them through evil report
and good report.
The meeting then separated.

FUNERAL OF TIIE LATE JOSHUA LACE, ESQ.

The funeral of this highly respected gentleman took place
o:i the morning of Wednesday. In compliance with the wish
of the deceased, expressed on various occasions, and more
particularly a few days before his death, the procession was
not marked by any extraordinary display—his immediate
relatives alone proceeding with the mournful train from
Woolton to Trinity Church, in the cemetery of which is the
family grave. There, however, a large and respectable-body
of his townsmen had assembled, to pay a last tribute of re-
spect to his worth as a man, and his integrity as a practitioner,
throughout a life so prolonged as to render him the father of
the legal profession in Liverpool, The hearse, which was
drawn by four horses, was preceded by the Mayor's carriage,
and those of the deceased's family ; and was followed by two
mourning coaches—the whole occupied by his relations. The
family carriage closed the procession. On arriving at the
church, the gentlemen alluded to, comprising nearly the whole
of the members of the profession of the highest standing in
the town, and other individuals of the first respectability,
formed an avenue from the gate to the door of the church,
through which the coffin was borne. The burial service was
emphatically read by the Rev. Mr. Douglas, of Childwall,
and the body was deposited in its final resting place (on the
south side of the church,) amidst a large concourse of atten-
dants, who appeared to be deeply affected on the solemn and
and mournful occasion.