The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-01-28 00:00:00

Mr. Moss said that in offering his observations et the
commencement of the proceedings, he particularly directed
attention to the fact, that the charge was one which could
not be called an error of judgment. (Hear.) If Capt. Laws
had merely said that he (Mr. Moss) erred in judgment, that
might be true enough, because he erred in judgment perhaps
every day ; but, in the present instance, the charge was of a
weightier description.
A SHAREHOLDER.—The charge here is, of sacrificing one
company to the interests of another. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. brm...—But let it be recollected that Captain Laws
has not singled out any individual of the board.
Captain LAWS.—Certainly not.
Mr. SANDERS.—There is a charge in the pamphlet to this
effect,—that there'are certain individuals on the board who
possess a small interest in the undertaking just sufficient to
entitle them to be directors. lam one of the persons on the
board, and 1 tell Captain Laws that I hold a much greater
interest in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway than 1 do
in the Grand Junction. (Hear.) I hold 48 shares in this
company; and before his pamphlet had been published I was
an advocate for the Hunt's-bank line, but now I think it
would be an act of deliberate suicide, and I never will give
my consent to it. (Hear.)
Mr. HODGSON.—I also am a member of the board, and I
will take the opportunity of saying here, that I considered
the pamphlet to be a personal attack on the character of
every gentleman at that board, and further, that I hold the
assertions of Captain Laws not worth a rush. (Hear.) Other
gentlemen told the same opinion of them ; and it was a sub-
ject of consideration with us whether the pamphlet should
not be treated as a libel, and whether he himself should not
be prosecuted. (Hear, hear.)
Captain LAWS.—I wish you bad so decided.
Mr. HODGSON.—Captain Laws now says that he is willing
to take another view of the subject, but he has not, to this
hour, admitted that he did not make an attack on
Captain Laws.—l made it on their proceedings as a
board. (Great uproar.)
Mr. HODGSDN.—Here is a man making an attack without
offering any reasons of his own, but merely offering the im-
pressions of a mind which we cannot envy ! (Hear.) Here
is a man who takes up a subject, and gives publicity to his im-
pressions ! He charges the directors with basing so small an
interest in the undertaking, that they cannot afford to do it
justice, as if honourable men were to be bought and sold by
the mere consideration of what they had laid out! (Hear.)
And what is the position of this gentleman, who seems to
think that others may be tortuously directed by the situation
they hold, and that they cannot be acting rightly because
their interest is small ? What is the position of this large
proprietor in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, for 1
find he holds one share? (Hear, and great laughter.) Why
this,—that he seems to think he is qualified, while pursuing
a sinister interest, to try to set the whole country in a flame
from a zeal to protect his interest`in one share! (Great laugh-
ter and cheers.) Ido not mean to deny that his one share
may be as valuable to him as 100 are to Air. Moss—
Captain LAWS.—As 100 to you, perhaps.
Mr. HODGSON.—I know Mr. Moss's feelings on this sub-
ject ; but I do not think that there is any necessity for a
committee ; and 1 shall tell you why. I think such a charge
ought to be treated with the contempt that it deserves.
(Hear, hear.) I think that it is even a compromise of your
dignity and character, to a certain extent, to allow the possi-
bility of its being supposed of you that such can be in any-
wise necessary. Nay, I adduce against such a weak, foolish
position the fact, that after all those base insinuations which
have been attempted to be thrown on the character of the di-
rectors—that after all the base attempts which have been
made to injure the character of men who stand far above the
reach of detraction—the very proprietors, in whose hands
those scandalous publications were placed, sent to Mr. Moss
no fewer than 260 proxies, thereby showing that they had no
confidence ma he author of the charges, that threw to the
winds all the attempts to injure Mr. Moss's character. (Hear,
hear.) I, therefore, hope that Mr. Moss will see that he is
falling into an error by submitting to any examination on the
subject. (Cheers.)
Mr. Moss said he was exceedingly desirous that an inquiry
should be instituted, inasmuch as the charges decidedly went
to criminate the directors. lie therefore wished to give Cap-
tain Laws the power of going into the board-room and inves-
tigating the matter, in order that the characters of the direc-
tors might be cleared of every imputation. He wished parti-
cularly that a deliberate investigation should be instituted
against all the parties who made the agreement. (Hear,
hear.)
Captain LAWS said he could not attend such a committee,
because he bad not made an individual attack. Although
Mr. Rathbone stated that he had no sinister motives in view
at the time of making the agreement, it would be admitted
that he might have made, nevertheless, a very injudicious
contract. He concluded by saying that he would move an
amendment to the following effect :—That as it required four
years' notice to terminate 'the arrangement in question, it
was necessary that an inquiry should take place, and that the
proprietors would he governed by the report of the committee
as to whether the notice should be given or withheld.
Mr. RANKIN said that the proprietors had already left the
settlement of this matter to the board.
Mr. CROPPER said that he held 150 shares in the Liver-
pool and Manchester Company, and that he was satisfied
there had not been any fraud, and that the directors were in-
capable of it.
Another PROPRIETOR remarked that he held 59 shares in
the company, and that he had no reason to complain of the
directors.
Mr. GARNETT said he never bad a share in the Grand
Junction, but he was a shareholder in the Liverpool and
Manchester, and was actuated by a sincere desire to promote
the interests of the company. He did not hesitate to say
that he had, among his brother directors, spoken to them as
to the propriety of giving a notice on the subject of the con-
tract; and that he had been advised not to moot the ques-
tion, for very sufficient reasons, which he would state to the
meeting if desirable. (Several voices—" no, no.") He
therefore would distinctly declare that any charge which had
been made against the board was totally unfounded. (Hear,
and cheers.)
Mr. Moss said that at the time the agreement was made
Mr. Loch had not the charge of the Bridgewater trust at all.
Captain LAWS admitted that, but said the change had oc-
curred immediately after.
Mr. HALSTON said that after the violent discussion they
had had during that day, he believed the chsricters of the
board never stood higher than they did at that moment.
(Loud cheers.) But as the pamphlet had been circulated
all over the kingdom, he thought it necessary that its effect
should be neutralised. He would, therefore, vote in favour
of the motion submitted by Mr. Moss.
Mr. ROBINSON said he wished the meeting to express an

opinion upon the amendment.
Mr. RATHBONE reminded the meeting of what Captain
Laws had said—namely, that he would not act upon the
was directed in a particular
committee unless the inquiry
way. He thought it might be exceedingly improper to throw
open the books of the company to the captain's inspection,
because he might make his information derived therefrom ad-
vantageous to other companies. (Hear, hear.)
A SHAREHOLDER was of opinion that Captain Laws was
a good military man, and that he was acting the part of a good
tactitian, to serve his own purposes, in the present instance.
(Hear, and a laugh.)
Mr. ROBINSON again pressed his amendment to a division.
The CHAIRMAN once more suggested to the meeting the
propriety of having the conduct of the directors thoroughly
investigated. He then read the motion and the amendment,
and took the sense of the meeting on the latter, which was
carried, we may say, unanimously, there being only two
hands held up against it, those of Captain Laws and his
friend, Mr. Gill. The result was hailed with loud cheers by
the meeting.
Captain LAWS said that the only way in which he could
consent to act on the committee would be upon condition
that that the contract was admitted to fully partaking of the
effect he had stated. In that case had would consent, but he
never would conaent to go into the spirit of the thing with
his hands and legs tied. (Ironical laughter.)
Upon the motion of Mr. ROBINSON, the report was re-
ceived and adopted, subject to an understanding that another
meeting would be called for the purpose of considering one
of the subjects mentioned therein. in reference to Hunt's-
bank junction.
The five retiring directors were then re-elected unanimously,
with the exception of one hand, that of Captain Laws, which
was held up against them.
It was ordered that the dividend, as recommended by the
directors, be paid.
It was then moved, seconded, and carried, that the pro-
ceedings of the day should be published for the information
of the shareholders at large ; after which, thanks were re-
turned to the chairman, and the meeting separated.