The news & observer., 1896-12-29
THE A. & \, {. LEASE
VIII an Attempt be Made to
Evade the Injunction.
Mr.. PURNELL THINKS so
Speculation in Regard TO the
Meeting Thursday.
STOCKHOLDERS RATIFICATION
Judge RSsseI's Policy SAID to BE 10
Sell All the Railroads Owned
by the State Hancock
For President,

For president,
A special meeting Of the stockholders OF
the Atlantic and North Carolina Rail
road has been called to meet Mt II o'clock
on Thursday, December 81, 1896. at the
Hotel Kennon, in Goldsboro. The pur-
pose Of the meeting, as set forth in the
call is to make and revise the bylaws and
to adopt such new ones and to repeal such
Of the existing ones as the stockholders
may deem advisable.
This seems innocent enough on its face.
and probably it is all that it seems, but
there are those who think not. They say
it has some connection with the proposed
lease of the Atlantic and North Carolina
Railroad TO the Goldsboro and Morehead
City Railroad Company. And there seems
to be some ground for that belief. There
is bylaw which says that all contracts
on the part Of the directors shall be
ratified by the stockholders This, it is
suggested, is the Objectionable bylaw,
and the one that this meeting is called
to repeal The opponents Of the proposed
lease are openly charging this, and the
advocates of the deal are not denying it,
But the report has never been confirmed
by those who are in a position to do so.
The precise effect Of such a step is not
yet known, though Mr.. T. r. Purnell, the
attorney who represented the opposition to
the lease in the injunction proceedings be-
fore Judge Robinson, says it will get
everybody concerned in it into trouble.
The object of the repeal OF the law, win he
says, be for the purpose OF avoiding the
injunction, and any attempt to evade an
order of the court is a contempt He
thinks further, that in the person of Judge
Timberlake, who is now presiding in that
district, they have "a hot number"-one
who will not let them off easy. Mr.. Pur-
nell says that if he were the Judge pre-
siding he would have every man concern
ed in this matter brought before him to
show cause why he should not be attach
ed for contempt as soon as the proper
information was lodged as to their inten-
ton to evade the injunction. The mat
ter has been brought to Judge Robinson's
notice, though Mr. Purnell says not
officially
When the directors Of the Atlantic and
Noah. Carolina Railroad met at Colds
boro on November 2-the day before elec-
tion-they leased the road to the Colds
boro and Morehead City Railway Compa-
ny. The terms or this lease, which is for 40
years, on graduated scale, have already
been printed in this paper, and were AS
follows: For the first ten years, ia per
cent; per cent. for the second ten years:
PIG per cent. for the third ten years, and 6
per cent. for the last ten years, making
an average of 214 per cent. for the whole
forty years. The proposal included the
payment of interest and taxes
The papers were all drawn up, signed
sealed and delivered at the Goldsboro
meeting. Only one thing was lacking to
make the contract complete-the ratifi-
cation of the stockholders All parties
concerned were sure this could be OBJ
tanned without any trouble, and it was a
question whether or not the property
should not be at once turned over to the
lessons and not wait for the formal rati-
fication. They decided, however, that it
was safest to wait, and the stockholders
were at once called to meet in Goldsbor0
on the following Monday (November 81.
This was a special meeting, and no pur-
pose of the meeting was put in the notice
sent out to stockholders or published in
the papers, as is required by the rules OF
the company to be done. Seeing this mis-
take the meeting, as first called, was
abandoned, and a second notice, for a
meeting on the 18th, was issued 1t thel.
developed for the first time that the direc-
tors had, previous to the first notice.
agreed to make a lease for forty years
to a corporation, formed under the gen
eral law, to be known as the Goldsboro
and Morehead City Railroad Company.
On the day following, Robert Hancock,
of Newbern, a stockholder, in behalf of
himself and other stockholders, COM
meneed the suit for an injunction before
Judge Robinson, to prevent the leasing Of
the road. A temporary restraining order
was issued, and afterwards made perma-
nent. No action was taken at the More
head meeting, and the lease still remains
unratified.
Now, if this bylaw in regard to ratifi-
cation is repealed, there are some who
hold that the lease would at once go
into effect, and that neither Russell. Judge
Robinson nor anybody else can prevent it.
Others take a slightly different view of
the matter, and say that while this is not
strictly true, there may arise a contin-
gency in which it will have that effect: If
the Supreme Court should reverse Judge
Robinson's ruling, the lease would at once
be in force, despite any opposition either
from the private stockholders, the State
or the courts. Mr.. Purnell doesn't agree
with either Of these opinions, but argues
that the corporation that proposes to lease
is quasi concern, and the lease, il made,
would be ultra wires and would not hold
good.
However this may be, the opponents OF
the lease, and especially the Republican
otice- seekers.are badly stirred up over the
meeting and are willing to go to almost
any extremity to prevent the consumma-
tion OF the deal They want control Of