The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-11-05 00:00:00

GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY.

On Friday a quarterly meeting of the Grand Junction
Railway Company was held, at the Cotton Sales'-rooms,
for the t urpose of hearing a statement of the progress of
affairs during the past three months, and of declaring a
dividend. John Moss, Esq., presided.
The CH AIttMAN opened the business of the day with a
lug address, explanatory of the state and prospects of
the undertaking. He expressed a hope that the Shrop-
shire gentlemen would adopt moderate counsels ; and
said that all the needdul measures were being taken by
the Grand Junction Board for bringing before Parliament
the Shrewl,bui y and Wolverhampton, and also the Shrews-
'D y and Stafford lines. He thought the course adopted
by the London and B rmitigham Board in this affair had
not been such as they had a right to expect ; but, as they
had publicly, lately. shown on what they ground that
opinion, he should say no more now. He desired, how-
ever, to take this opportunity of disclaiming, for himself
and his colleagues, all intention to make any personal
charges against the chairman or any member of the
board. An injustice was done to them if any part of
their public statement was construed into an attack or in-
sinuation of any kind on any gentleman individual), ; if
he were to add to it, it would only be to express the great
regret that the Shrewsbury party should have been, under
all the circumstances of the case, enabled to boast, at their
recent public meeting. that they had anion.' the holders of
sharesLnilnninanthdeßirircmominpgehtpmgpliinreecttnhres.most
(Hear,itiellubeenntriao Un-
happily o the
hn
happily there had been, recently, a difference of opinion
between the London and Birmingham and Grand Junc-
tion Boards on other subjects, a full explanation of which
be did not deem it expedient at present to go into. He

would not even offer an opinion as to which party had
been right or which wrong ; but this he must say, that ao
agreement made between the two beards, in July last, Ws
no longer in existence; that it was adhered to until t.!
London and Birmingham Directors had persisted in thenn -
refusal to refer the matters in difference to the arbitra-
tion it provided, namely, to three of the shareholderrti
not being directors of the company. In the present port:"
tion of affairs, the course of the Grand Junction Boll_
would be defensive only. He could hardly believe that
parliament would allow new lines to be made runninyge
parallel and close to theirs, practice having gone to prom,
that the public cannot be gainers by such a plao•
thought, that, if any railway in the kingdom could bee
considered safe, theirs was that railway ; and, in proof
the sirc-rity of these opinions, he had, very lately, Cou._
siderably increased his interest in the concern. (Neer,
hear.) Their receipts were most satisfactory. They w:
lowered their fares, and given greater accommodation 1,
the public—(applause)—by adding second-class coaches
to first-class trains and by giving a thud-class, with
covered carriage, at le. per mile. i Applause.)
Chairman concluded by moving that a dividend of X2l",:ii
for the three months should be paid. He said this woe'.
leave a very handsome surplus, and he expected to hal'
a very flattering statement tor the shareholders at Christ-
mas.
Mr.- ROBERTSON GLAUSTONE Deputy-chairman, so'
conded the motion, which was unanimously adopted.
Mr. H. Port's, of Chester, remarked, that, although
disputes had arisen between the respective companies',
which must be unfortunate for all parties, he had nredoubb
whatever that the consideration given by the Grand Ai
_ne-
tion Company to the measure in dispute was given aPall
mature judgment.
Mr. MozLEY said, that the chairman had thought Pr°:,
per to address the proprietors on a variety of points whit.'
were eminently important. The Grand Junction Com-
pany held, at a cheap rate, a very large and extended line'
and if, taking into consideration that what had been done
three or four years ago in the infancy of railways coo!d
not be effected now, and if they were content to try 14°'
they had got, and to extend their line in every portion;
if they reduced their fares and paid constant attention to
the wishes of the public ; if, in feet, they anticipated the'
wants of the public, he felt quite confident they need not
fear opposition from either the north or the south, or'
that there was in the Grand Junction Company that back'
bone vvl:ech would cert.y them through to the line. (Heart
hear.) With respect to the difference with the Londoa
and Birmingham Board, he thought he might say Pub'
lic'y what had been said privately, that on a careful view
of several of the documents, there was no uestion of
doubt that an agreement had been made for q
the mutat,
benefit of both parties, and that, if arbitration was to tithe
place at all, it should have taken place at the very identi-
cal point at which the parties had arri ed. (Hear, hear.)
He was quite convinced that it was fur the interest of the
companies to cement a strong alliance, and that, by mu'
tual good working and understanding, and also by shorten'
ing the distance between London and Livervolp the!
should render every class and description of opposition a
nullity, Applause. He considered, as a man of business,
that the differences between the two companies must end,
in a serious loss to both. He spoke boldly and plainly'
with the view of showing, that, if the directors of
either
board were self-willed, or if any portion of either were
deeply interested in other concerns,—(hear, hear!)—hec
carried the flag to rout them from their hold. (t-°"d
cheers.) He prayed them to consider that there were
very large interests at stake, interests of the last imP°rt.
since ; that, upon the faith of men of honesty and good
judgment, widows and orphans had invested their pro"
party in the concern ; and that anything like direct ePe°'
sition between the two companies could only end tit tb°
destruction of the means of this defenceless class of
sons. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. RUTSON asked what foundation there was for of'
in g the directors of the London and Birmingham Coat'
panics were shareholders in the Shrewsbury line ?
Mr. SWIFT said he had heard it mentioned at a meet''
ing in Wolverhampton. _

Mr. RUTSON asked how the chairman considered the
agreement of July at an end ?

-The CHAIRMAN replied. that, when the Birmingbal°
Company declined to refer the matter in dispute, they
were informed that the agreement was at an end. There
was not any railway property in the kingdom which oes
not injured by the differences between the Grand Junction
and Birmingham Boards. He was sorry he could not see.
how it was possible to make any agreement with the Bit"
mh.gham Board more binding than the last.
Mr. MOZLEY here entered into some explanation as t°
the position of the London and Birmingham Directors
with regard to the Shrewsbury line and their alleged in":
terest in that undertaking.

The expl.mtion was considered somewhat satisfactorY'
The CHAIRMAN observed, that since they had written
to the London and Birmingham Beard, to state that their
agreement w,s at an end, no answer bad been returned to
their communication.

Mr. HARPMAN EARLE Mated, that plans had been
prepared and notices lodged for the purpose of making It
railway from Crewe to Stoke by the Grand Junction
Company ; and that other parties would take up the line,
and make it to Stafford, so tint the Potteries would have

as eood a railway communication ascoul<l.be wished:

The meeting separated at-;-4-1;;;te;Io'ih;lee-e;elock.

APPLICATIONS FOR SHARES.

The Mining Journal of Saturday contains the following
exposure of a system which has been discovered in the
applications of certain parties for shares in the vario"
railway projects now before the public. A plan, says our
contemporary, which has of late become genet al, is that of
writing, in false name., with addresses to Liverpool,
Birmingham, Bristol, Plymouth, or any other town, for
hares to be allotted, without any particular addresS
being given ' - and in many instances shares are anpro-
priated, on the assumption that Mr. Tomkins, of Liver-
pool, or Mr. Brown, of Bristol, must be highly-respectable
men, as they deem it unnecessary to give any other than
a general address. Let us see how far this assumption is
correct. Mr. Tomkins or Mr. Brown communicates
with the Post-office at Liverpool or Bristol, and direct
that any letters addressed to them shall be forwarded to
their private address in London—say, Srar-alley, or Five's-
court, St. Giles's—and thus the allocation letter comes
back to London. Tnis is one case.—Now proceed we to,
en ether. A letter of application of the Rev. —,—
l3alham Dill, is addressed to a company. An anent is
appointed to ascertain the respectability of the party. and,
on enquiry of the postmen of the district, is informed that:,
the letters addressed to the Reverend gentleman are to
be forwarded to
party making the enquiry proceeds to the place named'
and finds that Cottage is a cigar shop, and th°
proprietor is the Rev.
It must be understood that we speak alone of cases
coming under our own knowledge. Again, a letter apPlr
ing for shares is said to come from ‘• A. 8.," of a cer-
tain street in —. "A. B." is known as a highlY,
respectable man, and the shares are appropriated, bil,„"
the letter never reaches his hands—indeed, he is ignorall
of any application in his name, and, moreover, the gi
dress is incorrect. The letter, however, is secures"
by the party who has thus forged the name,
being taken from the postman. Another case is:4l'
of letters bAng addressed to certain parties, and ;'l'
address being altered by means of a chemical 1") 3
cess, and another substituted—thus avoiding !!
responsibility incurred of signing the deed, will
the premium on the shares is secured. A further onei;
and that of the most vital importance, as connected with
our commercial relations, and the Post-office authorities,
is, that applications for shares are made, and the letters 1°
reply, in too many instances, are, by an understanding
between certain parties, placed in other quarters than
those for whom they ate designed.
We have said sufficient to put those interested in the
formation of companies on their guard ' • and we have g°, „°
grounds for sta• ing, as relates to the latter case, that'
representation will be made to her Majesty's Postmaster'
General.