Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-03-16

! sWlhale g extraordinary Disclosures Of
Fraud.
The report Of the Committee of Investiga-
ton of the Great Western Railway of
Canada, appointed on the 4th of April last,
has at length appeared in London The
transactions detailed by the Committee are
in some instances of so Questionable a
nature that IL is recommended that the ''best
legal advice be at once bad as to the ptoner
proceedings to be instituted against the per-
sons concerned"
Among the persons whose conduct ia 40.
riously impugned is Mr.. Samuel Laing, late
Secretary to the Treasury of England. The
Committee refer to the extraordinary fact"
admitted by Mr.. Laing himself that upon
the occasion of the issuing of the prospectus
Of the Hamilton and Toronto Railway, in
1852, that gentleman, while acting as one
OF the Trustees, had q partnership agree
ment with Mr.. Wythes, the contractor by
winch the profit or loss upon the contract
was to be shared between them. ...
1t is only fair to mention that Mr.. LainQ
states that he afterwsrd relinquished allshare
Ia the contract, and that he never took abv
pIoht from Mr.. Wythes. IL is stated that
the shareholders have expended 900 672 over
and above the contract price of f328, 900, for
which Mr.. Wythes had undertaken to com
plete the line. With regard to the issue of
tree-land shares of the Detroit and Milwaukee
Great Western Directors, the report states
that the subscribers to the shares have been
grossly deceived by the Detroit Company.
the land promised never having been
legally at the disposal of the company"
With regard to the loans of Gl5O. 600 and
tluO,0OO, made by the Great Western Com
pany to the Detroit and Milwaukee, the
Committee observe:
'In October, 1858, twelve months after the
date of the first loan, the Great Western di-
rectors obtained from their shareholders a
second loan (fl00,0O0 in amoun,A for the
Detroit and Milwaukee Company, q concern
which their own secretary had long before
described as helplessly insolvent; and this
time, II would appear, the Great Western
directors not only suppressed the knowledge
they possessed of the real state of affairs. b9t
they ventured to tell their shareholders they
were happy in being able to state that all
difficulties had been surmounted by the en-
ergy and exertions of the executive in Cam
ada" i.# .rs.
- Another development is as follows:
1FIhe eommiit,e asl call attention to an
advance of E7, 800 made by Messrs. Bridges
q Reynolds to the Port Huron and Miiwau.
kle Railway Company; the money was paid
out of the funds of the Great Western Com
paDy, and the London secretary, ia a letter
to Messrs. Bridges b Reynolds, calls the
advance unauthorized and unwarrautable.'
The money was paid in September, 1858, and
the Great Western directors have since that
time presented the half yearly accounts to
the shareholders in a shape so as to conceal
the transaction altogether"
1t appears that the total cost of the main
line Of the road has been e., ,637, 776 3s.. ex-
ceeding the estimates by about GLOOO. 600.
and OF this outlay the amount expended be.
fore the opening of the 241 miles was fl, ,359.-
620 6S. Cd and since the opening there has
been expended the enormous sum of fl.277-
l47 It's. Sd. ..t
The following extract from the report
shows curious state of facts:
1.-The published accounts show net proft
from the opening of the line to the 3lst July
1850, OF f65066l lis. 3d., after deductinp
working expenses, interest on bonds, &C.,
and renewal of Tail9, sleepers, &C., esq, SAT 4s,
ID, and compensation for accidents, E82 O93
7s. Sd. 1t would appear to have been con-
sidered very great point TO commence paw
ing dividends in July, 1854. The proceedings
OF Alr Bridges and Mr.. Baker In SO making,
up the accounts as,to justify a Dividend. Of
SIX per cent. at that time, are well worth the
attentive consideration of the shareholders.
In the same statement the accountants enter
into detailed account of sums amounting to
932l,07l lis. 3d.. improperly treated as
revenue in the different half yearly accounts
up to the 3lst of July, 1860 They also state
that up to the same time, in addition to the
amount expended in renewals, the sum of
Gl3s, ,49O should have been provided under
that head out of revenue. The accounts pre-
sented to the shareholders would therefore
appear to have been systematically fallacious.
"Ibe Committee have no hesitation in de-
claring their belief that from the commence
ment of the undertaking to the present
moment, the property of the Company has
been entrusted to persons wholly unworthy
nf
shareholders to take the earliest opportunity
of displacing the present Directors and of
selecting Others, not only to superintend cur
rent affairs but also to bring to a strict &C
count all who may be found TO have i'm
properly possessed themselves of any part of
the funds or property of the Company, and
further, 10 take The best advice as To the ma
ture of the proceedings to be adopted against
those who have been implicated in any of the
nefaIious doings by which the shareholders
have been SO grossly deceived and have
suffered so severely"