The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-11-29

Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad.
Animal Meeting OF Stockholders.

RnnUh Hce5n~ Oh stGcAGOi3erS.
| The stockholders Of the Chesapeake and
! Ohio Railroad Company assembled, pur-
suant to adjournment, in the hnll Of the
| House of Delegates on Saturday night.
Hon. j. 3. Baldwin. from the committee
to whom was referred the various proposi-
! tons for the completion Of the railroad to
| the Ohio river, reported that they had given
! the same mature consideration. and begged
leave to repeat the recommendation made
in favor of the adoption Of what is known
lstho Huntingdon contract. TThc provisions
If the proposal Of Mr.. Huntin@don and
rcsociatcS have alrc'dv heen published in
the DispGtch.1 Mr.. Baldwin said he regret
ted to Say that the COMMITTEES were not
unanimous in this recommendation.
| Mr.. James Lyons submitted minority
report, signed hv himself. J. r. Caldwell, b.
H. Magruder, ?. II. Avlett, and ". Skccn.
recommending the rejection by the stock
holders of the contract proposed by Hun
tingdon and associates, and the adoption OF
that which has been proposed by James
| Carter and associates.
| Mr. Lyons then addressed the meeting at
| length. setting forth the reasons actuatin"
| the minority. He had 1T first been in
| favor of the Huntingdon proposition ONLY
| because it seemed to be the only feasible
| one. not havin" been made acquainted with
! that of Garter and associates.
| He reviewed the conditions Of the former.
rs heretofore published, and claimed that it
was the most extraordinary and monStrou@
contract ever cXtorted from a free people
| Huntingdon and associates get IN enormous
! bonus Of $1,000, 600 Of stock, advance only
! Il 900, 600, and exact the privilege Of ap-
| pointing a majority Of the Board of Direc-
! tors, with president rcsidincin New York.
: The English firm Of Smith e Co., repre-
sentcd hy Mr. James Carter, propose TO give
! us one million Of dollars within twenty
/ DAYS. two millions III one month, and eight
millions within six months. For this we
are TO give them stock only to the amount
Of five millions, and the appointment OF
! a minority OF the directory. The New ork
/ parties may take iivc years TO complete the
road. whereas the London firm will do the
! work ~ fast rs we can spend eight mllion
Of dollars and it may not take the whole OF
This sum. Adopt the London proposition.
and the early building OF the road is Il fixed
! fact adopt the other. and we know not
, when the lob will be completed. So far II
the reliability and responsibility OF the COM
petno parties arc concerned, there Is little
distinction. Huntingdon & Co. arc ac-
| knowlcdgrd to be wealthy and compe-
tent. Smith & Co. were at first unknown
to Us, hut they are endorsed on this side
Of the water by McGinnis IL Co., of New
York, whose standing is unimpeachablc.
| The President Of the Fourth National
| Bank teleeraphs that McGinnis d Co. I" are
| good Tor all their engagements" 1t Secu-
| rity is required on the other side OF the
water. we present cable telegram from
! the President Of the London and Mestmin-
ster Bank, Il financial institution second to
none in Great Britain, which says that Link
| & Co. is an old and well-knOwn house, rell-
able for anything they undertake. The
| speaker therefore considered the parties on
all equal footing. He concluded by Offering.
on behalf OF the minority, the following
| resolution
| Rcsolvcl, That in the judgment of the
| stockholders ii is proper that the directory
| Of this company enter into q contract with
James Carter and his associates for the sale
OF seven per cent. bonds of the company on
the basis of the proposition submitted to
said directory by him."
Mr.. Baldwin advocated the adoption OF the
majority report. He, too, had inquired into
| the standing Of the competing parties. vi
| the New York party, he said Mr. Hunting
don was man in the front rank OF tnan-
ciers, who, in connection with tlsk
| Hatch, has built more railroads III the
last five years than any other man
| in the United States has in life
time; w. II. Aspinwall, he said, was o!
worldwide reputation Us q bold, reliable,
and successful tinancier; \. A. Lowe,
president of the Chamber of Commerce o!
| the city Of New York David Stewart, .
merchant prince of the metropolis; Mr..
! Winslow, q retired banker of large means
and great success in business Mr.. Clarke,
with u fortune OF millions. Others of the
same character might be named, but suffice
it to say that better array of names could
hardly be made. They represent fifty OF
one hundred millions OF dollars. On the other
hand, who are the London party? Smith 4
Co., represented bya Mr.. Garter, VINO, TO ae
| him Justice, seemedto be well-disposed gen.
tleman of fair intelligence. The speaker had
examined him closely, and this was tho re-
suit concisely, and he thought fairly stated
Smith s. Co., CT which MIR. Carter IS tht
Junior member, are solicitors, who do not
claim to be very wealthy, and act here only
| rs intermediary parties, claiming TO nave
made q contract with q Mr.. Sleigh and
other capitalists with view to the com
pletion of this road. Mr.. Sleigh's bushes:
| IS to take loans and negotiate them on the
London and Frankfort markets. Mr. carter
did not bring the contract for ollr eXamlna
ton. having left home hurriedly. he mas
no power of attorney or letter autnorlzlne
| ulu tO aCI LOIt dusUo0y hoe SAi =
no endorsers in this country but McGennls
& Co.. nor has he acquaintances, letters
of introduction, or correspondents on TINS
side of the water. These We're the PLAIN
facts as stated by Mr.. Carter. Yet he saio
he could get the endorsement OF the Bar.
ings, and the committee waited for It. Ihal
endorsement was not received, but instead
we receive a callegram from the London
and Westminster Bank speaking OF smitf
IL Co., solicitors, as old connections OF the
bank, and perfectly reliable, and expressing
"hi gh opinion" of Mr.. Sleigh, Mho, has
also "banked with them." This is all we
know of the London parties, except that
| McGinnis s. Co. back them; and we Ill
know what miserable faillire Our loan nae
| in the hands of McGinnis " Co.
| Colonel Baldwin then reviewed the pro-
posal of Huntingdon, and said that the
conditions were perhaps excessive, Dul
would nevertheless rebound to the welfare
of the company. As to transferring the
management to New York, which Mr.
Lyons so greatly deplored, ne could moi
agree that 1t would be such a misfortune
Affairs had sometimes been badly managed
here, and it was proposed now to put the
| road into the hands Of railroad men second
| in ability and foresight to none in the land,
and then there would be an end of thi,
dragging of political affairs into our annual
| meetings. In conclusion, he said that if even
| the two propositions were equally wei