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VEEBATIM REPORT or THE PROCEEDINGS ~^ AT THE ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING AND THE SPECIAL MEETING, HELD AT THE LONDON TAVERN, BISHOPSGATE STREET, IN THE CITY OF LONDON, On THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29th, 1863, IK PUBSUANCE OF THE FOLLOWIir& ABVKBTISKUENT :— THE GRAND TRUNK RAILWAY COMPANY OF CANADA.— Notice is hereby Kiven, that the ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING of the Grand Trunk Railway Company of Canada will be held at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Rtreet London E.G., on Thursday, the 29th of October next, at 1 n m.'precisely, for the purpose of receiving a Rep9rt from the Ktorsi and for the transaction of the other busmess of the ^°SiWe said Meeting will be made Special, in order to con- aider and. if thought fit, to approve an agreement or agree- mente, with the Montreal and Champlain Railway Company m ^ And^notice is further given, that the Transfer Books of the Company will be closed on and after the 15th of October to the day of meeting, both days inclusive, and transfers cannou be received between those dates^^^?,V. wi'TKI>i. President. JOHN M. GRANT, Secretary. Grand Trunk Railway Offlce8,21,01d Broad Street, LDiidon,E.C. September, 25, 1863. LONDON: WATBRLOW AND SONS. LONDON WALL. 1H«3 i i ' ' (IRANI) TRUNK RAILWAY COMVANY OF CANADA. E. AV.Watktx, Ej=!q., havinp^ taken the Chair at One o'clock, caUed upon the Secretary to read the notice convenin^^ the meeting. Mr. J. M. Grant, tlie Secretary, read it according-ly. Tlie CiiAimiAN : GenthMnen, in Tno\ ing the first resohition to be offered to you to-day, ^hicli is, " that tlie Eeport of the Directors and tlie Statement of Accounts for tlie htdf-year ended oOth June, 18(>i, be received and adopted," I shall be expected to offer some explanations and further informa- tion in reference to tlic present position of the affairs of the Company. During my recent visit to Canada I a\ as, T confess, somewhat impressed with the ti'uth of the obser\'a- tion which has now and then been made to me by some of my colleagues, that I did not always take a sufficiently hopeful view of the prospects of the undertaking ; because, T am bound to say, that, with the exception of matters affecting the relations between the Company and the Canadian Govern- ment,— to which it will be my unpleasant duty to-day here- after to allude,— the commercial and business parts of the undertaking seem to me to show signs of very -commendable and very hopeful progress. (Cheers.) I found that the manage- ment of your line gave more satisfaction to the business men of Canada, and that whereas formerly you were unpopular, partly because you were poor and partly because you did not satisfactorily manage your affairs, tliat feeling had given place to a better ; and thut there was a greater disposition on the part of tlic people of Canada to support your under- taking than it had ever been my fortune to witness on any of the previous and frequent visits w liicli I had made in your interests to that country. (Applause.) I found, also, with regard to the discipline and organization of your line there, a marked improvement. I found that your working stock was being repaired and renewed on better principles, and that it was being used with more economy. I found also that that which is the weak point on all Canadian and American railway's — the " permanent way" as we call it here, or the " track" as they call it there — was being very considerably amended on sound engineering principles. (Hear, hear.) Seeing all tliese matters for encouragement, I asked myself what was the great feature of those errors of calcula- tion committed in the inception of this undertaking ; and I confess — although it may not be profitable to dwell too much on the past — that it seemed to me that the whole thing, or almost the whole thing, rested on the question of the assumed rate of working expenses given in the prospectus. (Hear, hear.) Both in England and in Canada— because we have committed errors here as well as there — the old idea used to be that a* railway, ex necessitate, could be worked for 40 per cent of its receipts ; and the shareholders did not bear in mind, that in arriving at such a calculation the amount and value of those receipts was a material element for considera- tion. As regards the Grand Trunk, you know that we have been working at as high a per centage as 85, although I am happy to inform you that the ordinary working expenses are now brought down to 63*83 per cent. But if we had been able to work the line as was originally supposed at 40 per cent., I find from calculations based on the present receipts of the Company, that we should be at this moment able to pay the mterest on the whole of the bonds, as now claimable, having previously discharged the rents on the leased lines,. :0 5 had given lisposition 'ur under- s on tuiy Ic in your "d, also, your line working ■inciplos, I found tdian and (3 call it ing very ^« (J Tear, > I asked ealcula- : ; and I 00 much liing, or assumed (Hear, «ve have used to ■10 per bear in nt and sidera- e have 1 1 am 5es are been per ceipts ; ble to { lable, lines,. which come lirst, and positively to pay 4 per cent, on the ordi- nary stock of the undertaking. (Hear, hear.) There we have the matter in a nutslicll. It is, after all, a question of expenses, and to the amount of those expenses our best atten- tion must on all occasions be directed. I must not mislead you into the supposition that railways in Canada ever can be worked so cheaply as in this country. No railways in a new country can : there are questions of original construction, of climate, and of settlement and cost of labour affecting the outgoings which render it impossible to work railways as cheaply or as regularly there as here. At the same time the circumstances of new and old countries gradually approxi- mate, and we liave shown that a great deal can be done in tlie direction of economJ^ I think, therefore, that it must be satisfactory to you to have your attention directed to the second paragraph in the Report, in which you will find that we have had an increased gross revenue of £51,347 in the half-year just passed, and that we have earned that additional £01,347 in the face of a reduction of £0,390 in the expenses. Therefore,practically spoaking,tlie net profit of your undertak- ing this lialf-year has been increased by upwards of £60,000, wliicli is an increase of almost 100 per cent, as comjDared with the corresponding half-year of 1802. (Clieers.) Now, I do not mean to say that all our anxieties and troubles are over, or that there is not much yet to be done ; but I think that those facts give us grounds for hope, and that by a steady perseverance in that quiet policy of industrious manage- ment which we have endeavoured to initiate, we may reason- ably expect even better accounts in the future. (Cheers.) But I feel that a great deal of tlio success which has attended tlic exertions of the last two j'cars, is due almost entirely to the cordial support which you, gentlemen, on that side of the table have given to us on this side, in carrying out the very arduous task which you have committed to us ; for it would have been utterly impossible for any body of men to have done what wc liiive done — namely, to rescue this railway from a position f) i I of ruin, (for wiMvm't^ tuuntod with owninj;' a "wreck,") and to CHtablisli it on a sound foundation an a property, — had our elforts not been approved and aided on your side of the table. (Cheers ) Thert^fore, when I find an attempt made, however insignitioant, to revive the smouhlering* embers of those dis- gracefid i)ersonnl attacks which used to degrade tlioso meetings — when I see tluit unfortunate element existing to however minute a d(^greo, T confess that, ehould it meet with the smallest sympatliy lierc, I should look with more alarm at that than at any other circumstance, commercial or politi- cal, which all'ects the future prospects of this Company. (Cheers.) To recur for a moment to the Report : — You will find that the increase on the gross traffic has been, as I stated before, £51,JU7 in the half-year. I told you, too, that wo had earned that amount of additional money in the face of a reduction of £0,890 in the expenses. But I must not forget to remind you that that result has been arrived at, notwith- standing that wo have charged the whole of the renewals and improvements of " track," ordinary and extraordinary, to revenue. (Hear, hear.) We have expended in this half- year £0,2()1 in renewals more than in the corresponding half-year of 18()2. largo as the expenditure then was. The Report tells you that the question of renewals as regards the future is still under consideration, having reference to what was agreed on at the special meeting li^dd here a few months ago. When we meet again, I trust that the arrangements, financial and other, which the Directors will then have made, will meet with your approval. But one thing has interest (d us much. You will remember that it was proposed to carry out the operation of extra renewals by the hypothecation of certain securities, which by the liberal- ity and honourable feeling of the gentleman on my right (Mr. T. Baring) and of Mr. Glyn were placed at the disposal of the Company a short time since. \Ye have seen that this is a progressive undertaking, and we did not like to undertake tliat operation too soon, because we found that, ") and to -luid our lie table, however liose dis- ie tlioso sting to eet with e ahirm r politi- >mpanj'. ^ou will r stated hat we ice of a ; forget otwith- newals linary, ;s half, ending . The rds the 3 what aonths aients, made, res<(>d •posed y tho beral- my t the seen like that, tts public; conlldonco increased and the net profits of the undi«rtaklng augmented, the value of our securities augmented also ;— (h«^ur, hear)— and, of course, an operation of tHs kind can be nmch better achieved when the bonds and shares are at their proper value than when they arc unduly de- pressed. It is gratifying for us to know that since those times of despondency, of two or three years back, there has b(;en a rise in the value of the various securities connected with your great system of lines, which is nearer two millions sterling than a m'iUion and three-quarters. I don't say that the value of securities in the market is always a test of the real value of a concern; but I think that that rise has been justified by recent results of working, and that it has been a sort of thermometer, indicating the increased confidence felt in the undertaking by the public at large. (Cheers.) In IcSOO the net profits of the Company were only £20,000 ; in 18G2 they were £03,000; and it must be ^ratifying to you to observe that in the half-year ending BOth June, 1863, they were £124,173. (Cheers.) We have been carrymg a very large amount of trafiic, and I have a statement here upon tliat subject, which, if I am not wearying you (No, no), I will read. It is as follows :— Statistics of Traffic c.aiiried in June Half-Years OF 18G2 AND 18G3 :— 1862. ...No. 300,314 ... „ 34,507 3,893 Local passcng(>rs Foreiu'U Emigrants ... >> 1863. 331,805 49,030 7,327 338,804 Or an increase of 14 per cent. Local freight tons 190,039 Timber and lumber ... „ 44,271 Foreign freight and live stock „ 43,226 ^B' 278,436 388,258 208,583 45,366 54,696 308,645 Or an increabi- of U per cent. Thus you will obHcrvo tlmt in every item o\' our triiflic the quantity whit'h luis boon oonvoyod 1ms boon stoiulily in- ereusing. It muy bo askod whetlior tbat iiu'ivtiso biiH takon pltioo at tbo oxpouHo of any oxintinp: institution. 1 tliink niysolt' that in (^anada, as in almost all count ii(>s, tlioio is, as moans of oonimunication «;ra(lually dovolop, plonly of traftio — moaninpf by '' trafho " tliat whioh is worth wliile to convoy asa question of profit — plonty of traHlc for ovorybody, if thoy will only apply connnon-sonso prin('i[dos to tbo fixinj^ of ratos, and doaling- with the total sum to bo <^'ot. There is onlv HO nuu'h nuinov to bo ii:ot out of tbo work yjivon to us by tbo public ; its distribution depends upon the wisibnn and sagacity of the various competitive intc'restsconieincHl. Tlio Government canal interests and tlio great rivers of Canacbi uro our groat competitors ; and we should ask, bave they sutt'orod by our existence? !Now, some of tbo results of this "conq)etition " are so reniarkablo,that, with your forbearance, I should be glad to place them before you. AVo have been carrying, as you know, a very huge traHi(\, soniotliing like 700,(100 to cSOOjOOO tons of freight in a year ; but, in the face of tliat, there has boon a nu)st astonishing increase in the traffic carried by the Canadian canals, which can carry during the season of navigation, with the exception of tbo local traffic, every tiMiig that wo can convey. A'ow I will read this statement : — In 185() the anu)unt carried on the AWdland canal was 240,9t')9 tons, and on the St. Lawrence canals 1)5,81)6, being a total of ;i3(),S()o tons; whilst in ISG'i there were con- veyed through the Welland canal 721,141) tons, or an in- crease of 300 per cent., and through the St. Tiawrence canals 421,265 tons, or aii increase of 450 per cent., tlie total in- crease being 805,549 tons. "Well, now I tliink that shows that there is room enough for us all to live, and that whilst the traffic on our railway is still increasing, that on the navi- gation is encu'mously augmenting ; and I A\ish to assure our competitors coimccted witli (^anadian railways, that they will always find us ready to meet them as friends, and on the SI ol II Nl \j (I cl d M i i fixin<»; |»riiu'i|)l(' of fairly considering their poHition; utkI tliiit wo sliull not attempt, nierely io}.nitify any idle temporary feelin«i; or personal pi(pie to reduce tluit total sum of net profit which must ultimately he divided anH)n<,'st us. (Applause). \ told you thill we iuul earned a lar increase of profit concurrently with a reduction of (>xpenscs. There is another view of the (piestion which it is only fair to lay hidoro you : we have earned that net iiurroasc witli ])()sitiv(dy a reduction in ou;- capital account. We have added to ("apital, lor the various items which arc charf^cd in the accounts, the sum of al)(>itt- i:(;,()0() ; hut apjainst tiiat, wo have credited capital with .t';i7,(K)0, whi(di was the accunndatcd amount of not earnin<;s above outnoiiiL's on r(!veniui account of the half-)ears previous to the Arran»^'enients Act of 1^(12. So that we may Huy that we havi^ cai'ned a laroor ti'aflic, with li'ss t^x'pense, and practically, in the face of a reduction in the capital account. (Hear, hear), ihit we have heen for the last two or three years earning- a larne increase of revenue witli the sanui amount of plant which we had to ho^'m with. The traillc still showH the same pronressive increase, although the Canadian harvest is not so abundant as we had h<>en led to supp()s(>. J Jut wc cannot always go on carrying- increased and increasing traftle with the same number of engiiu^s and the same rolling stock ; and oiii' attenti(jn will tlierefore he directed to providing capital for some reasonable increase of plant to enable us to carry a considerable augmentation of freight and passengers. (Hear, hear). There is one matter which has bi>cn frequ(>ntly tlie subje{;t of discussion at our meetings, viz., the losses on our leased lines. No doubt the terms originally gisen for the leases of those linos were Nory liigh ; there is no doubt, further, that the lessors of those lilies— the Atlantic u^ul St. I^aw rence, and the Detroit and Tort Huron, have met us very fairly by reducing the rents upon those undertakings. I have just had an account pre- pared of the working expenses and receipts ui)on those two railways, and I am happy to say, although tlic half-year 10 \ H under discussion is the least profitable li.alf of the two, (the December half always giving more net profit than the June half,) that the loss on the Atlantic and St. Lawrence line has been reduced to £6,493, and on the Detroit and Port Huron to £3,599, in both cases after paying the full amount of the reduced rent wliich was due under the revised agree- ments with those Companies. Indeed, I am sanguine enough to hope that in the current half-year, when the receipts are larger — as regards the Detroit line, although I hardly hope it as regards the Atlantic line — there will no longer be a loss on the lease of that undertaking. (Hear, hear.) One item affecting those lines, and one reason of the increased amount of your net traffic, has been the establishment of that line of screw propellers between Chicago and Green Bay and Sarnia, which I mentioned on a former occasion as likely to be secured. I am happy to say that the amount of traffic which we have received from those propellers from Chicago and Green Bay to Sarnia has been no less than ^125,000 in the half-year, which is to a great extent new traffic to us, (Hear, hear). We had never before gone into the thing in the same way ; but our Manager, Mr. Brydges, — who, I am happy to say, is present to day (cheers) — made a very excellent arrange- ment with the influential and enterprising proprietors of the propellers at Detroit. We have had during the whole sea- son a tri-weeldy line of propellers to Sarnia, and I hope that in the following year we shall have a line regularly running each way every day. I need not point out what a useful accession this is likely to prove to our western district, wliich before was not a very profitable part of the undertaking, as regards through traffic, cementing as it will our connection between that portion of our lines terminating at the Atlantic and those great western states on which so much of our future prosperity must depend. (Hear, hear.) WliiLst I was in Canada we had the pleasure of inviting the Clianibers of Commerce of Detroit, Chicago and INlilwaukio, and of the larger towns in Michigan and Wisconsin, to liike a trip over I 11 f the two, t than the Lawrence Lt and Port ill amount sed agree- ne enough ceipts are ly hope it ' he a loss One item d amount at line of d Sarnia, ly to be tvhich we id Green alf-year, r, hear), le waj'-; i to say, irrango- ■s of the ole sea- )pe that 'unning useful , wliich ing, as lection tlantic of our I was >crs of of the p over our lino. Owing- to much that has been said both here and in ('anada, arising from that general disposition to kick every body wlio is down (laughter), the Grand Trunk was looked upon in the AVcstcrn States as an undertaking over which it was not very safe to transmit the produce of the land. However, those gentlemen— all able and influential men of business, connected with large undertakings— went over the Grand Trunk Railway, and they were delighted with all they saw. They had been expecting to find what is called there in derision a " one horse railway," and they found instead, as they were good enough to state, one of the grandest works existing on the Continent ; and when, accom- pjmied by Mr. Hickson, they got into the middle of the Vic- toria Brido-e,- that great iron gallery of two miles across one of the largest rivers in the world— those men, hard-headed, calculating men of business as they were, could not refrain from uttering a spontaneous shout, so delighted and asto- nished were they at that engineering work of Stephenson's, through which they were then passing. (Cheers.) I consider, I repeat, that ^ve must look to the agricultural produce of tlie Western States of America for a great deal of our future tlirough tiafiic ; and I am happy to tell you, that though railway extension in Canada is for the present vcry° properly stationavy, the people of the Western States, notwithstanding the difficulty arising from this sad and most unfortunate civil war, are straining every nerve to extend the railway system throughout Minnesota to the north and west. (Hear, hear.) No doubt in a very few years the railway system of Minnesota will be extended to the boundary of British North America, in that vast North- Western district stretching from Lake Superior to British Columbia, witli its gold, of which we have hitherto been kept in such ignorance, but which so abounds in elements of wealth, and must become, and at once, a most important 8ubj<^ct of discussion in this country. T am sure that we can- not look with indifference on the recent transactions in which influential persons are engaged, in co.'iuection with that great w. 13 und fertile and rich district of the Hudson's Bay territory, which has recently passed into hands which I trust will open up, traverse and develop it, and thereby consolidate the pos- sessions and power of Her Majesty on the American continent. They must bring to themselves, and those connected with them* the profits which their enterprise deserves, and those profits will be measured only by the energy they display. (Cheers.) Referring to the paragraph which appeared in our last report respecting the working of the traffic between the Montreal Ocean Steam Sliip Company and this Company, I am glad to learn from the managing director that arrangements have now been made by which a more speedy and satisfactory settlement of the cofnplicated accounts between the two Com- panies will in future bo made ; and I trust that these measui-es will ensure that imity of action and cordial working between the two executives so essential to the interests of both. (Hear, hear.) I may perhaps be pardoned if I here allude, to save you the infliction of a second speech, to the proposed arrange- ments with the Montreal and Lake Champlain Hallway Com- pany and with the Buffalo and Lake Huron Railway Company. As to the first, you must be aware of the intimate connection of the Grand Trunk at Montreal with the Champlain district. In fact, we only gain access to our station at Bonaventure Street, at Montreal, through that Company ; and if we were to extend our line dovs^n the shore of the St. Ijawrence to the proper point for traffic for shipping, it can best be through the instrumentality and property of that Company. The report tells you that the municipality of Montreal is disposed to assist in making that extension, and I feel that munici- palities and public bodies should be invited and encouraged to give us all the assistance which they feel disposed to give. Beyond that, we have increased our railway connection with the towns and cities of the Eastern States of America — in- cluding, of course, IS^ew York — and, with our 1,090 miles of railway, it is rather troublesome to have 81 miles of line of an independent Company intervening, with interests rather exceptional and local, while our's are fhrougii and involve m '% y territory, t will open te the pos- continent. with them, ose ijrofits (Cheers.) ast report Montreal m glad to 3nts have tisfactory two Corn- measures between • (Hear, , to save arrange- ay Com- ^mpany. action of district, venture ve were 3 to the hrough The Isposed aunici- iraged 5 give. 1 with 1 — in- iles of ine of ■ather volvc 13 our whole system, and the concurrence of whose management we must consult at every turn. Therefore we have come to the conclusion that with the view of securing a better access to Montreal, and dealing more directly with our customers the American Railways in the Eastern States, we ought to make a fail" and permanent arrangement with that Company. I should never think of asking you — in the present state of your affairs, at all events— to give to any railway company any thing in the shape of a fixed guarantee. We think, however, that a legitimate partnership on equitable terms must be beneficial to both parties, as that railway is the funnel, as it were, through which a large portion of traffic passes on to your system. Looking the question fairly in the face, we propose to give to the Cham])lain Company such a comparative proportion of the net profits of the two railways worked as one, as it has earned on the average in the past three years. They thought that we rather over- estimated our share of the profits : however, we thought otherwise, and in the end we have agreed to give them one- fifteenth of the total net earnings of the united concern, work- ing the two Railways as an amalgamated system. (Here liere.) Of course we can only do that with the sanction of an Act of Parliament. But as it suggested itself to me that our not profits might increase as a matter of ratio more rapidly than theirs, I guarded myself against any improvident payments arising from that, by taking power to purchase their undertaking, should it ap])ear to be necessary to do so. I tlierefore recommend tlds arrangement to you, believ- ing' that bv it vou will get a considerable addition of " through" revenue, strengthen and consolidate your position at Montieal, and be enabled to deal directly with several thousands of miles of railway east and south of Montreal. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the Buffalo Company I cannot say much to-day, because we are still in discussion as to the proposed arrangement with Mr. McEwen and Mr. Charles Holland, whom I am happy to see present as visitors. Any ll 14 tiling tlitit wo do, howovor, mu^st ho sul>joct to your sanction, and if wc make a conditional bargain it will bo Liid before you at your next ordinary meeting, which I hope will be held early in April of the ensuing ;\ear. Ihit there is one question connected with that to which I must invite your special attention. You are not aware, perhaps, that, taking Detroit as one point, and Buffalo and Suspension Bridge as each another, there is a change of gauge between all the the railways centering at Detroit, and all those centering at Buffalo and Suspension Bridge. The Grand Trunk and the Great Western of Canada have a 5 ft. 6 in. gauge, whilst what is called the " shore line/' between Detroit and the south shore of Lake Erie to Buffalo, has by some extraor- dinary freak of the engineers, or some wonderful stroke of policy, a 4 ft. 10 in. gauge. The American gauge of rail- roads west of Detroit is 4 ft. 8.\ in. The c:onsequcnce is that all the traffic exchanged between the West and the East by those three several routes has to be transhipped. And when it is remembered that the trade between those districts is in extent almost like that existing between two nations, you will see that every package having to be loaded, and every bag of flour and grain having to be transhipped, a delay, and confusion, and loss of property, which is really very serious, must occur. We propose to reniedj^ that by a process so simple and cheap, compared with the rcfsult, as to be almost ridiculous. We propose to lay inside the 5 ft. 6 in. gauge, from Sarnia to Fort Erie for Ihiffalo, another rail, so as to make our railway and the Buffalo 11 ail way 4 ft. 8^ in. as well as 5ft. 6 in. gauge (Hear, hear.) The efft^ct will be that the vehicles belonging to those thousands of miles of rail- way, north and west of Detroit, stretching right away to the Mississippi, can go direct to the market for the produce they contain, which will be accompanied with a great economy of time and labour, and a practical multiplication of working stock, the value of which it is almost impossible to describe in figures. So far as we are concerned wc get l.*> thai ttailir j)iii)(i|)iilly in viutrr : wv do not, of »;uiirs(s wiint to lav out, inoimv in iMirchaMiui'' stock i'oi" a trade wliich is ut its best durinjj;' only four or five months of the year ; but we shall be only too glad to enable evi'ry railway that is in connection with us at Detroit to run freely over our line without break of bulk. (Ueur, hear.) That is one of the most important changes which can possibly be made. In regard to that question our friends of the Ijuffalo and Lake Huron are entirely in accord witli us, and if we can make an arrangement with them I hope that this portion of it will be carried out at an early day. (Hear, hear.) Now I must approach a subject which is far less pleasant, although I should be sorry to say " far less hopeful," becaubC '• when things come to the worst they arc almost sure to mend." I allude to our relations witli the Canadian Government. (Hear, hear.) JSow, remembering who you are and what Canada is now, T think that I shall not be ^rong if I say that you are entitled, considering all you have done and all you have sacrificed for Canada, to just treatment at the hands of those who are placed over the destinies and government of that country. But the facts are that the Government have again chosen to fix as the remuneration for our posttd services a most unjust and most arbitrary rate. First, in 1853 they agreed to give us 'iS 1 1 per mile of railway per annum for one service a day over a then detached portion of the Atlantic and St. La\M'ence Railway, and previous to the completion of the whole undertaking and the opening of the Victoria Bridge. Assuming for a moment that .8110 was enough — though I say it was not, and you were then living in hopes of that eleven and a-half per cent, which influential gentlemen con- nected with the Canadian Government said ^ou should earn — assuming that that was fair then, circumstances have greatly altered since. First, your railway system has been finally completed by the ()[)ening of tlie Victoiia Bridge, and the Canadian Government have lai Atlantic line of mail steamers ; [1:: 10 I then, the number of Post Offices in Canada has been in- creased from 1,000 in 1853, to 2,000 in 1803 ; the number of letters, which in 1853 was 4,000,000, has increased to 10,000,(M)0 : and the postal revenue has increased from 258,000 dollars in 1853, to 785,000 dollars in 1802. But they have chosen to fix 00 dollars a mile for one servicre, and if we run a second they will give us 40 dollars more. (Oh, oh !) Under these circumstances — every hope held out being be- trayed, and every promise made to us broken— our colleagues in Canada presented to his Excellency the Governor-General in Council what is called a " petition of right."* You are doubt- less aware that in this country no subject, without consent, can sue the Queen ; but to no subject who fairly considers that be has a claim against the Crown is the prayer of a petition of right ever refused. (Cheers ) It is considered, very pro- perly, that the Crown is the stronger party — that it is like a giant contending with a pigmy — and therefore it is consi- dered that in a great and free country every protection which the law can aiFord should be extended to the individual as against the Crown. Hence in England the petition of right, as our able solicitor, INIr. Swift, confirms me in saying, is never refused. But in Canada we have not been so success- ful. Our colleagues there instructed the ablest counsel whom we could select to prepare the petition in the form which he believed to be correct. Nevertheless that petition was re- fused on a point of form. They then presented another* in a form which we thought would obviate the technical objections to the former petition. I am sorry to say that Mr. Brydges has received a telegram in which the Governor- General, the representative of Her Majesty in Canada, acting of course under the advice of his ministers, declines to grant the prayer of our petition ; and therefore justice is denied us. (Cries of " Shame.") The telegram is as follows : — The rctitions will be found apjicnded at the end of this Report. 17 8 been in- ae number creased to ascd from cS02. But nee, and if (Oil, oh !) being be- colleagues r-General are doubt- asent, can ders that a petition ver}^ pro- i is like a is consi- on which >^idual as of right, aying, is success- el whom vhich he was re- ther* in echnical say that )vernor- ', acting o grant denied ■s : — irt. a " QuKiJEC, I'Mh Odohfir. Siu,— T havi! th(^ lionor to inform you that Ilis Excel- " lencytUe Governor (iciieral lia;-i had before him the Petition " ol' Ui^'ht of tlie Grand Triirdc llailway Company (»f Canada " under dale the Ist instant, sio-ned by the lion. J. 11. '■' Cameron. His Excellency directs me to state that he is " advised that the opinion of the lion. Attorney General for " Upper Canada is adverse to the granting of the fiat prayed " for hi tliat petition : under these circumstances His " li\(;(.'llency must decline to accede to the prayer of the " petition. " I have the honor to be, on, " Your most obedient Servant, '• (Signed) E. Meredith, *' Asst. Sec. '' C. J. Brydges, Esq." That is unfortunately the position of this transaction. If that were all, we might hope that time and patience would speedily remove our difficulties ; but there have been indica- tions constantly occurring which show that by a certain set of politicians in Canada tlie Grand Trunk llailway is looked upon as an institution, not which they " delight to honour," but which they '•' delight to injure." In our distress two or three years ago, we borrowed the sum of £3.5.000 of the Finance ^^linister on the security of tlie Postal Revenue and £-12,500 of Second Preference Bonds, which we deposited. AVe have paid off that debt ; and here is the report of Mr. Langton, the Provincial Auditor, to the Finance jSlinister of Canada, in which he says, '* I think therefore that the claim of the Grand Trunk Railway to have these bonds released is a just one." If in this country the Chancellor of tlie Exchequer were advised by an official at the head of the department that securities belonging to a private individual ought to be returned, and when the debt ll- ,! < 18 tor whicli they were lodged luid long since been paid off', I think that he would not be able to hold up his head in par- liament or the country, if he thouglit proper, for some reason which we cannot discover and which we hardly dare to speculate upon, to withhold those securities. (Cheers.) Yet tliat is what tlio Canadian Government does ; and when they are told too that tliat property is required to enable us 1o carry out arrangements for working the increase of trafHc for the benefit of the province. (Shame, shame). The same soit of opposition, from the same quarter, was experienced when we carried through the short Act of I'arliamcnt which I liold in my hand, and which was brought in to correct an error of dates which liad crept in to the Arrangements Act of 1(S()2 by tlie carelessness of the Government officials. We found that we were met in every stage by factious opposition from the Government, which we could only interpret to mean, that in the opinion of a certain politi(!al interest it was considered desirable that we should remain in a state of embarrassment. Fortunately, good sense, good feeling, and honour and honesty, were too strong for our antagonists, and this small measure affecting our infernal details was passed by the Canadian Parliament, and has since received the Royal assent. If there were any wisdom in these pro- ceedings one might feel less on them. If Canada were so poor that she could not pay for her postal service — that postal service bringing her in a constant revenue — then pos- sibly we might make some allowance for the poverty of the country ; but the fact stares us in the face that there is no part of the American continent where so large a per centage of progress has been made either in trade or population, as in the province of Canada, since your railway was begun in 1851. The population has increased fifty-five per cent, since 1851 ; and in the last five years, so great is the elas- ticity of the trade of the country, that the imports and exports which in 1858 were only S52,000,000, jumped up in 18G2 to 1 27c. per head per annum, or about os. only; and the total sum wliich each individual has to pay in tax- ation does not exceed IGs'. per head per annum, while we pay at homt- £2. lO.s. So there is no excuse as regards justice, policy, or the poxerty of tlie country. And what is the rosidt of this conduct ? Commercially, and as a question of solid pi'operty, there can be no better security than that which Canada alfords to tliose who clioosc to lend her money. IIow is it, then, that the Canadian (jiovcrnmcnt per cent, securities have declined of late, wliile the securities of such colonies as tlie Mauritius, Natal, Cape of Good Hope, and the like, have all been increasing in value ? Tlicre is not one of those small colonies xvhosc 6 p(n" cent, stock docs not sell at from -3 to 10 per cent, more than the Canadian stock ; though their material security cannot be compared to that of Canada. Surely that ouglit to be a lesson, Vv-hicli to sensible men fit to govern a country ought to speak volumes ; and were they such nam it ought to convince them that there is something necessary to establish public credit besides ability to pay, and that is, faith in the honest desire to pay and to fulfil honoraldy and in\iolably all past obligations. (Cheers.) We have the pleasure to-day to have the presence of Mr. Brydges, our Managing Director. My colleagues and my- self asked him to come over that \Ae might discuss with him various questions which, in a large undertaking like this, must arise. I think that the result of our last vear's woi-k- in"' entitles me to say to ^Ir. Brvdges, and those officers who are engaged with him in the reorganised concern, that wo have every reason to be satisfied with what tliOA- have doii(>, 20 r .1 and that tlu>y Imvo our confidence, and will retain it so lonj» as we see tluit tliey are dotcrniincd honestly and ably to carry out your wislu^s and ])r(jte(!t your interests on the other side of the Athintic (cheers), and 1 think I may assure thein that tliey will havt! a fjenerous intcr])retutl()n put upon their i)r()- ceednigs, and that they will not be held responsible for any- thing: Avhidi may occur beyond the re'>ion of their control. (Clieers.) In conclusion, T must allude with regTct to the appearance of ai)amphlct written by ^Ir. Conybeare, headed, "Mr. Ihirin^' and the (h'and Trunk llaihvay." I allude to it with more than re;;'ret because T 'unaware that I am giving ini])ortancc to ado- cmuent which ou|.>ht never to have been written, and possibly raishij^' up from its insi<^-nificance that document, and enabling it, in point of fact, to obtain a circulation which its own merits would never liave procured for it. The transactions alluded to in this pamphlet are those with which, as you are aware, I, personally, had nothinj^ whatever to do. But it is the duty of anybody sitting in this chair, when he sees stated in print against the character of a colleague that which he knows to be the worst form of untruth, to lay before you the actual facts of the case. I shall not go into the w^ondrous and sharp corners so ably turned in this pamphlet — evidently written to avoid an action for libel ; but I will read one statement contained in it. I will then give you the answer ; and, after that, dismiss the subject. The statement made by Mr. Conybeare, in a foot- note at page 5, is this : — " On one occasion, in reply to a question touching a loan " account of £5()(),00() opened in tlie Company's books under " the title of Financial Agents of Canada, but repudiated by " the Canadian ^[blister of Finance, ^Mr. Gait, Mr. Baring " said, that as the financial agent to the Government of " (Janada he refused to answer my question. I am in fair- ** ness bound to state that I believe that the answer to tliat " question, if given, would have been to jNIr. J taring's credit, f. it so Ions: y to curry otlier sidu ariiin- iori> tlum toado- pos.sildy its own isactions you are iut it is s stated liich he you the 'ous and idently 'ad one nswer ; lade by a loan under ited by faring ent of 1 fair- ) tliat ;redit, '■ft- 21 " if not to that of ^Ir. Oult. On anofher occasion, Mr. '' Barin^i:, willi an iiKifcui'acy wliicli 1 liavo observed in " Hoveral of bis statements, refused to answer my questions " on tlie pretext that 1 liad instituted leual pro('eedin;j;s " a|j;anist Mr. Glyn and liimself. Af^-aiust Mr. (jilyn I never " instituted any l(»;^al proeeedin^s. " As my lejjfal proceediui^rs against Mr. T'aring fui'nished " liim with a pretext for not giving tlu> bondliolders informa- " tion wliicli was asked for, I determim;d to gi\-e up my own " pecuniary ehdms against Mr. Iniring, and remove tluit " obstacle to full explanations, by offering to 31r. lUiring the " elioiee of my action agahist liim for misrepresentation " being, if he wished it, proceeded in no further. ^Mr. " Baring has availed himself of the option so offered by me, *' and has made an tipplii-ation to the Court to stay further " proceedings in that action." Anybody reading that would sav that Mr. Baring, with his high position in the (uty of London, had gone begging to Mr. (.■onybeare to withdi-aw the action wluch had most unjustly been brought. Tlie truth is that Mr. Baring challenged him to proceed witli tluit action, and was most anxious to see it brought into court. But what happened ? tlie venue was laid by INIr. ('onybeare in some snudl town in South Wales, under the phni, forsootli, tliat you gentlemen, the citizens of London, would never find a verdict against Mr, Ihiiing. Altogether, what are the facts? Hear this letter from the solicitor of Mr. liaring, whieli I will read to you, and then I Khcdl dismiss the matter, ex(M'pt that I reserve to myseli a further course. I have here, in this box, certain documents which I shall read if necessary, and which I sludl certainly read unless Mr. Conybeare does that which I tell him in the face of this meeting, lie is bound to do as a gentleman — namely, apologize publicly in this room for that whieli is an outrage upon Mr. 15aring, and an outrage upon you. (Loud cheers, m whieli Mr. C'on^■beare was heard eiaculatinjj " Certainly not; nothing of the kind."j iS'ow this letter is addressed to myself, and is as follows : — )22 11)/// (Hokr, l.S(;:{. Dkak Sir, In accoidaiK'o uith your rcqiuvst, throu«»li Mr. (Jruiil, I 1)0^ to nu'iitioii to you (with rot'oronco to the stuto- Tiu'iit ill Mr. (^myhouiv's pamplih't, foot note pugt* 5,) that Mr. Conybciiro luivinjj; intinmted to ua liis willingiuss to abandon his absurd action a<^aiiiHt Mr. Iiarinarin<>' was quite prepared to meet his char^.'s in the usual way if he thought fit to proceed with hi.? action : and that if, on the other lutnd, he agreed with us in tliinking* that it could end only in further expense and annoyance, we should bo very glad to hear it, and in that event no claims of ours for costs should stand in his way. In ordinary course, there- fore, wo took out the usual summons to stay iH-oceedings in the action (which is the way in which actions are termina- ted by iiiutual consent), and this is all the foundation Mr. Conybearc has for the false suggestions contained in the foot note alluded to. I ought, perhaps, to add, that the action was commenced in January, 18(32, and that notwithstanding all our en- deavours to persuade, and then to force, ]Mr. Conybeaie on to the trial of it, he kept it on foot till August last, when he, and not we, made the offer to let it drop. It had become such a nuisance to us personally from the course of delay, &c., adopted by Mr, Conybeare that we should have been prei)arcd to make any reasonable sacrifice, personally, to have an end made of it in any way, and as he would not prosecute it to a trial, we have no hesitation in saying that we advised Mr. Baring to consent to its bchig dropped, as proposed by Mr. Conybeare. , \ K. W. Watkin, Esq. Yours ^•ery truly, (Signed) J. SWIFT. rr, ],s(;;{. the stutc- « 5,) lliut ngiicss to ishod, but tliat Mr. tlie usual id that ii; g that it >'c .s]ioul(l "^ of ours so, tlicro- JC'eeding.s teriniuii- 'ion Mr, 1 in (he imcncod our cn- curo on t, wlien bot'omc ' dohiy, 'e been to have osecute iflviscd sed by FT. 38 With thi.s loiter 1 dismiss this ,sul)j(Tt. Now two words in crmclusion with n'j;-ard to our position. I look on your uii(ltMtnk'Urs). I think that the improvements made within so short a pericjd as the last two years go to assure us more and more in tlie final success of our under- taking. (Loud cheers). I svill repeat the motion that T made at the commencement of my speech, viz., " That the lleport of the Directors, and the statenu-nt of accounts for the half-year ending the 30th of June, IcSGJJ, be received and adopted." Mr. T. Bahtno, M.P.— I beg to second the motion. Mr. AV. IIartruk.I'; — I should like to have a word or two of explanation with regard to the agreement proposed with the Champlain Company. Nothing has been said with regard to the managenu^nt of that Conjpany. T regret \ery nuu-h that so soon after the t^mbarrussments which beset us in former days you should have thought It desirable to take into our system another branch, which must to a certain extent increase the obligations of this Company. I think tliat the rent or any payment coming before the preference l)on(ls is objectionable. Perhaps you will inform me the names of the present Directors of the Champlain Company, and whether any compensation is to be given to an}' party for contracting for that agreement. T am afraid of any dis- 24 ''"y*, M ¥t' ! f! I aster arising from mistaken notions on tlie subjeet of the benefits likely to arise from this association, I concur in everything, except in that particular, with what lias fallen from the president of tlie Company, and with that single exception of that lease I consider that our position justifies the steps recommended by the late Committee. (Hear hear). I sec that Mr. lirydges is tlie IManaging Director of this Company, and that he is also Director in Canada. I have ah\avs acknowleducd the abilities of that gentleman, but I think it is rather an i^rror of judg- ment to place him in the position of both Director and Ma- naging, Director. I concur entirely in the proposition tha,t Mr. L'onybeare should not disfigure tlie reports of the meetings of this Company by the personalities which he has introduced into his pamphlet, and I hope that he will now honour- ably retract what he has said, and that he will not in future embarrass matters by difficulties and])ersonalities, which can- not produce any good. I have not gone into the merits of his pamphlet in the way in which he wishes me, because I have not seen any ground for the statements he has made on former occasions. I hope, therefore, that the proprietors will not support ]Mr. Conybeare in such statements, and that he will for his own credit, and in presence of an honourable feeling in the matter, make such a statement as shall relieve us for the future from the disagreeables which he has hitherto imported into our proceedings. (Loud cheers). Mr. CoxYi3EAKE — I think the Company may now con- gratulate itself on having the right man in the right place at the head of this undertaking. He is the right man not onlj' for the management of our affairs in Canada, but he leads a body of shareholdcTS in this Company in any direction he pleases, for certainly he has unravelled for us the state of aftairs by his great tact and clear and lucid statement. On some of his statements however, I shall have some remarks to make, because I disapprove of them. No one can doubt that Mr. AYatkin is perfectly correct when he sjicaks of this Company ha^i^g been reduced to a m SI b o 1 ■ 1 25 ig- stnmdcd wreck, iind of its resuscitation and reorganization by the agents employed to carry tlirough that reorgaiuzation of which he is tiie head and chief. To a certain extent that icoroanization has been successful, and I trust that it will 1)0 nu)r(^ HO. I should like, however, to have some informa- tion upon one or two ])oints on which he has touched to-day. One of the points on which I wish information is with regard to the Champlain amalgamation, and I should like to know ^^•hat are our profits and what are the net profits of that Company. :Mr. Watkin, in proposing an amalgamation with a Comptinv of tluit sort, is inaugurating a part of the new policy. Our late policy was the wretched ruinous one of leases. That which he now proposes is more in accordance with tliat now in fashion in l^ngland, r..^ in the case of the West [Midland and others, that are now making a^ sort of '* hotch potch " of returns, and sharing the profits. But untd we can ascertain what the net profits are, and agree upon them, both in our own case and in the -ase of the Company with which we are about to make this sort of marriage, we shall be in constant difficulties. In the Report we are told that the net profits of the half-year were £r21,17;J, out of some £100,000 the total traific. It seems to me that we ought to be more careful in statements of this sort before the public. I don't want to throw any difficulties in the way of the oilirers of the iHMDrganized Company. On tlie contrary, I shall do all that I am to aid tliem. But I cannot allow statenu>nts to go forth which will not appear to be consistent Avith the actual facts of the case or the provisions of the Act of Barliament. Our Act of Parliament defines what arc workino- expenses and also what our net profits are. There is an .jld English maxim, " that the proof of the pudding is in the eating ; " but if we made a net profit of £124,000, I can only ask what has become of it. Of course the ordmary shareholders get nothing, and never will, at least tdl the Gi'eek Kalends. We paid our first preference Bondholders £50,000; but with the exception of that, I don't see that 26 I m r ;my portion of the £124,000 net profits has been expemlod in the wity that it ought to have been. One mode of apply- ing it has been the renewals. The Chairman — Xo; the renewals were provided for before the £124,000 was arrived at. Mr. CoxYiJEARF. — I am obliged for the explanation. "NVc must probably expend a very heavy sum annually for re- newals ; as there is no doubt that this wreck of a company has got its rails into a very bad state. Amongst other things Mr. Watkin proposed at the first meeting hold was, that the rails be renewed by Bessemer's or some other new process. "VVc know how short the life of a rail is, and therefore this, I expect, will be a serious item in the future. Another point is the £7,000 deducted by loss in the exchanges. I under- stand that any reduction of that sort ought to be made before you strike tlie net profit, especially as you recoup yourselves some of the loss arising from American currency, by paying your creditors in that currency. I ask that in your accounts all these things shall bo fairly stated, in order that we may know in future what is the exact position of the Bondholders of every class, and of the shareholders' prospects. As to the propellers, I think that they are likely to prove a very important benefit, as de- veloping a large amount of additional traffic. With respect to laying a third line of rails, I presume that Mr. Watkin means something to be done simihir to what has been done by the Great Western Railway between I^ondon and Heading. Is that so " The Chairman — Yes. ^Ir. CoNYiiEARK — Then I believe that no single step has ever been taken by the Grand Trunk Railway that will more tend to its improvement than that laying of a mixed gauge of rails on the same lines. As to the Champlain question, I thmk tliat is more for your consideration than ours, liut you must bear in mind, that having abandoned the old leasing policy, we arc about to enter upon a new system which may be fraught with almost equal danger. It is very difficult for 27 pciulod apply- ed for for re- M omjiany V tilings hat the n'ocoss. )ro tliis, er point ' iindcr- »e made recoup irrency, that in Lited, in :) exact of the [ think t, as de- respect Watkin en done .eading. tep has ill more gauge stion, I >. But leasing ch may .'ult for us on ihis side of the table, however, to arrive at what the true policy is, and as ve luive in our president's cliair a gen- th'nian in whom we have conlidenc(» to carry througli an anudgamation of tliis description — (Hear, hear) — I believe that we should o]ily do harm by attempt hig to go into the question ourselves. I should desire personally to assist, and not to injure the reorganized hoard. I shall not therefore olfor any opposition to this object. I think that the Chair- man in talking of bags of grain gave rather a poori^r notion of the amount of tralHc than he would have done if he had si)oken of cars of grain in bulk, which \\ ould more pro])erly have exju-essed the enormous trallic of the country. With regard to tlie postal subsidy, I want some inforuuition, be- cause I think that it has been introduced with renuivks that are rather calculated to create unfavourable feelings towards us in Canada. I wish to know whether we, as a (\)mpany, have any further interest in the postal subsidy. T understood when we were entering upon it, that we should hand the money over to certain creditors, and that whatever wc got should be for those creditors and not for ourselves. In fact that we were merely a go-between. I should like to know whether that is so or n(»t. I for one am most desirous t o give a generous const rucition to every observation and remark that comes from the opposite side of the table, and am quite willi]ig, therefore, to put a generous construction upon JMr. Wutkin's ronuirks touching myself, and which I nuist charao terize as a very unfair and ])ersonal at tack uj)on mysel f,calc ula t(>d to convey a most unfair and untrue impression of what has taken place. Tlie facts are \ery simple I d(j confess. I did commence an action, and I did not pro(;eed with it because I was assured that it would throw some difficulty in tlie way of your inter(\sts in ("Canada if I brought it forward. (Cries of Oil ! oh ! and laughter). T state facts. (Cries of ()]i ! oli !) T did not press it forward then, but I subsequently did when vou obtained your Act. I found .some delay in getthig answcM's to cpiestions which I bad a right to put in law, and 28 IP i;i ! I I whilst considcrinfj; whether those answers were sufficient, I found that judgment luid been snapped witliout my knowing it behind my back. So anxious was 1 to press it forward that I rescinded that judgment and would not allow it to remain law. My letters may be published in the "■' Times" if they like. I wrote requesting further information, and stating that I should change tlic venue ; but as they had signed judg- ment, tliis showed that they wore most anxious to get rid of the action, and I noAv say that it would damage your property if persevered in. I did not wish cantankerously to stand out, (cries of Oh! oh! and laughter,) and I said there- fore, that if ]\[r. Baring wished, I would consent to take no further steps in the action, but if the}' wished it to go on I was perfectly willing and desirous to do so, and demanded further information. I was surprised to find that they, in- stead of letting the matter sleep as I was then expecting, actually api)lied to stay further proceedings. I refused to en- dorse the writ with my consent. 1 said, you may use this letter as mv consent if vou like, but I shall lav before the shareholders the reasons which induced me to bring an action and to stop it. I rescinded the judgment obtained behind my back, and was prepared to carry tlie thing on, and ampre- ptired to carry it on now. I have given ^Ir. lUiring every oppor- tunity of answering all my questions, and I hope that I shall obtain such an answer from him as will place him m here he stood in my estimation before this occurred — " A 1." among the merchant princes of London. But he must do it by his own answers, and not by cavilling at the proceedings I have taken in an English court of justice. Mr. Mj:kc'EU — After the handsome and generous manner in which ^Ir. Baring has come forward and surrendered those securities which he held, I must say that I feel almost degraded in being associated with one who could turn round upon such a gentleman as Mr. Conybeare has done. How- ever, let the matter pass as too insignificant for notice. At the last meeting it was determined tliat £220,000 should be if 2<) It, I king tluit nam they lating liitlg- gct expended in renewals und repairs, to be spread over five years and to be paid out of revenue. I should like to know ^^'hetller that has been commenced, and whether more will be required for tliat purpose. Taking the whole of the lleport and the accounts into consideration, I think we have every reason to be satisfied with our prospects for the future ; and if you will only allow the Directors to go on as they are doing, I believe that they will do everythhig that we can wish. (Cheers.) I have known the President for many years, and I am satisfied that if you support him you will be doing tho best possible thing for the prosperity of the C(.)mpany. (Loud cheers.) Mr. Coi'LsoN — I can endorse all that lias been said by the last speaker, and I am happy so tell you that a friend just returned from Canada spoke to me the other day in these words : " The Grand Trunk are carrying eyerytliing before tliem." I am exceedingly pleased with the Report that has been presented, and I think that this long lane has at length taken a turn, and that now we arc going in the right direction. Rev. Mr. Creak — I should be glad to know whether the interpretation that I put on the arrangement with regard to the renewals is correct. I understood you at the last meet- ing that three- hundred and eight miles, or more, had to be relaid, and the total expense would be about £220,000, which was to be extended over a period of live years. During the last half-year I believe that £oO,(.IOO was expended for tlie purpose of renewals, and if that rate is to be continued the £220,000 would very soon be expended. I should lil^e to know how tins is, because upon it depends whetlier the second preference Bondholders will get their interest iit the end of the year or not, and that is a question of considerable importance. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Heron — I hope that Ihe meeting will not add to tlie Importance of that insigniticaiit pampldcl which has been alluded to by taking any furtlier notice of it. I entirely j- ftl n 30 Ofjroo with what has fallen from previous speakers. It is quite certain that if Mr. Conybearc had ^^-anto(I to go on with the action he couhl have done so, and that nobody could liave compelled him to withdraw it. If ^Ir. C(my- beare's solicitor -withdrew the action without his knowledge T can only say tluit he showed more judgment than Mr. Cony- beare has done. (Hear, hear.) jMr. Baking, M.P. — (Loud cheers) — I am quite sure after the conduct of ]\Ir. Convbeare that this meetinii: cannot ex- peet me to have any other communication with him than through a court of law. (Cheers.) Any question which any other gentleman may address to me I shall be perfectl}^ ready to answer ; but after the conduct of Mr. (^onybeare, after the insinuation that it w^as at mj^ desire that the action was wit] i- drawn, after tlic tenour and contents of that pamphlet, I must say that I shall not answer anything from him, or make any communication to him, except through tlie channel of a legal tribunal. I join with the last gentleman who addressed you, and I trust that this matter may drop. To me it is a mat- ter of perfect indifference what Mr. Conybeare may think of me. AVith you I trust I stand as one who, M'hatever hia ability, has acted for this Compan}- to the best of his judg- ment. (Loud and protracted applause.) Mr. IIartrtdge — How do the greenbacks affect our posi- tion ? IS'othing has been said about them. The Chairman — We allude fully to the currency question in paragraph 4, page 5, of the Report. We there state tliat '"' the sum of £0,589 for ' loss on xVmerican cur- rency ' — an item of loss, which will, it is feared, be even heavier in the current half-year with its larger traffic — has also to be deducted from the net profit of the half-j-ear." lyir. MiauER — You stated at the last meeting that you hoped the Second Preference Bonds would in the current half-year come in with the first. Do you still tliink so ? The Chairman— The way we deal with tlie loss on the exchange is just as we should deal with any gain on the W .31 exc'lumo stutomcnts contained in that pamphlet, lie must exjMiOt no forbearance from me. I have p^ot documontH liere which I should be sorry to read, and a 8lateiuent to make wliich I should be sorry to make : but I must do my duty ; and I must have that apolon-y which is due from 3Ir. Conybeare to Mr. IJarhij^, or I must reply. (Cheers, and cries of ^' read, read.") Mr. CoNYUKARE — I shall not retract one statement unless I obtain from Mr. Piaring tlio inform.atiuu for wliich I luive asked. I have stated nothing but facts, and I don't care if my letters are published entire. T was positively informed by my leg-al adviser that the answers given to my interroga- tories were insufhcient. Mit. Swiri. — The facts of the case are these ; in Jamuirv, 1SG2, Mr. Convbeare brouji-ht an action that was so delayed by various technical procetaings that we endea- >oured to force him on. At last, but not until earlv in the July of this year, which was a year and a half after the ac- tion was brought, we signed judgment hi order to force hhn to go on. Having so done, he came to us, wlieii we said that if he would go on, we would withdraw the judgment the fol- lowing day. He made some excuses — his witnesses were absent, or he was not well, or something of that sort ; but eventually he changed the venue, and put off the thing from assize to assize. At last we got him to this position, that he must either go on or stop the action. We told him that if he would go on we should be extremely glad, but if not he must withdraw it, and we should say nothing aliout costs. He then pledged himself that he would go on in November. Mr. CoNYr.EAHE — I gave no such pledge?. I said I could not go on until November. Mr. SwirT — Well, take it so. He then wrote me a letter of four pages, in August, offering to withdraw the action. (Cheers.) He told me in that letter sometliing about the kindness of Mr. Baring to a friend of his, but he never said a single syllabic about the interests of the Company. I .» ;u wrote in vv])\\ that Mr. huriiifji; did not ciiro twoponco about liix jj^oing- on witli tlio action, and tluit lie nii|^lit vas liis application to cliange tlie venue ; the ellect ol' which was lo put ofF the trial from November to jMarch. 1 received several letters from him, and tiie eJl'ect is tliat after we have tried for eighteen numtlis toeompcl liimto go on, and having higued judgment in order to make him go on, and ollering to withdraw the judgment if he would go on, I got sick of tlie concern, and advised IMr. Baring to let the nuitlcn* drop. As to letting hhu off without paying costs T knew very well that I was not giving up any- thing by that. (Cheers and a laugh.) The CHAiK>rAN— I ask Mr. ("onybeare to make the amende houomhh, and I gi\e him one more chance to apologize. Mr. ("oNVUKAiJE — I shall do nothing of tlie kind. Instead of the letter being written willi a view of avoiding libel my law3'er told be tluit it was libellous iu every page. !Mr. IJaring says that his answer is througli a court of law. I^et the libels be complained of there, and T will justify every statement. Mr. CAZE^o^'K — I think that we arc quite in a position to settle this question now. Hero are the parties face to face. The venue is fixed, and this is the jury, and we agree that the point at issue is the veracity of 31essrs. AVagstaff against that of Mr. Conybeare, and I think there can be no doubt whatever who is to be credited. (Cheers). The Chairman — Now I have a duty to perform, and it is a very painful one, but I must do it. I have given Mr. Conybeare every opportunity to retract, and he has failed to avail himself of it. Two ycjirs ago 3Ir. Conybeare very much hidulged in this liabit of uttering libels by cartloads, I may say, against gentlemen of high honour, which were totally without foun(hition. These were uttered agamst gentlemen upon whose c^hai'acter and perfect truthfulness there was not and never was the shadow of a shade of ground for casting any unputation. Now I went to Mr. r jiu lio in ll8 ler lilt [r. kit I { iVj Conyboavo and (.'X]>l;iiiiOil to liini lliat il niatt«M'0(l vory little what oftoct his spcoclics luul in Kn^'land, bt'causo ^vo know ouch otlier licro, and know wliiit valut; is to Ik* attacli(>d to statements proceedin*^' from diti'erent persons, bnt I pointed out that these constant objurgations had a tendency to lower the position of the undeitakinrsisting in such conduct, and I thought I had succeeded in showing him that it was not only his duty but that it was to his uiterest to ])ursue a diHerent course. Nevertheless, he comes here to-day and persists in that which everbody but himself believes to be* untrue as regards ^Ir. liaring. (Cheers). Does anybody believe that Mr. IJaring obtained that ''judgment " for his OAvn personal interest, when they know he has not availed himself (.f it, and when he has given uj) to you — as probably no otlier man in this country would have done- -hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of securities? I)oes anyone believe that Mv. Baring wilfully deceived you in refeieiice to the issue of the second preference bonds ? (Xo, no). Mr. Con ybeare knows perfectly well, and no man has had more information than he has, that Mr. IJaring had nothing at all to do with the circular, and that the calculations of that circidar were based upon information received from Canada, and upon whieli the then Board here implicitly relied. He knows that the omis- sion in those calculations of the Detroit lease rent was because it was believed the line would })ay its own way. (Cheers). Thc^^e are the plain facts of the case, and yet Mr. ("onybearo, knowing all this, persists in this statement as to ^Ir ] faring. (Cheers.). What does he say now? " take mc into a court and try an action of libel." Do you think that a man like Mr. Baring is to come down from his position in the City of London to meet Mr.Cunybeare at Brecon, or some otbei- small il ;JG plnco, on uclinrji^ool' libel, (irear. hour.) Tt is not u qnoslion, tliouj^h, really of tlie character of 31 r, Hariii^, but whether we shall at this and all these nieetlnjis i)u( down this dis- ^raeeful system of personal attack (immense cheering,) which has not merely injured you in Canada, b!it has lowered the tone of this j;reat enterprise, and is indeed the most fatal bolt that anyone could launch against it. (Great cheering). Mr. (^mybcarc says, take me into court on an action of libel : what would one gain by that ? Iferc is a letter dated tho 5th of ]\Iurch, 1(S()'J, and here is another dated the 'JOth Juno, 1ar this letter of his of the Dth of December, LSfW. '* I think," savs Mr. Convbearu, " liaring's solicitors ill advised in not recommending liim to *' compromise the matter," and " meanwhile it will be nuts to *' the public in Canada," Sec. (Loud cries of sluime, and hmghter at the letter.) Tliese letters are ut the disposal of Mr. Conyb(\ire, and at the disposal of any gentleman who likes to read them. Suppose we went into a court of law. I ask any lawyer hero whether any English Judge upon the liench would not considcn* that it was very much like an attempt to extort money. (( 'heers.) lie says, " I think Mr. Baring's solicitor ill advis(>d in not recommending him to conipronfi.sr." Mr. Ihiring did not compromise, and was ready to meet any charge which that person could bring against him. (TiOud cheers.) I apologise to Mr. Baring for liaving again caused the matter to be revived, and to you, gentlemen, for having taken up your time. I have now, by this exposure, performed a .simi)le act of duty, and I am determined, if I am to occupy this chair, to put down this practice of personal slander to which for a long time pastwc have permitted ourselves to be subject, (loud cheers,) and I now ask those that are in favour of the motion to hold up their hands. '^I'he motion was then put to a show of hands and was carried unanimously. Mr. CoNYiiEAiiK arose to address the Meeting and was immediately received with loud expressions of dissatisfaction, in the course of which the (Muiirman rose and said, I rule that the discussion is closed. The Kev. Mr. Creak — AVc have been told by our Chair- as 1 1 Tiian tluit cur Solicitor in (anuda lias ap])lic(l to the (jovcrn- iiK^iit I'ur u Petition of li-iglit, and that it has been refused. Althou"li the Icual remedy ,sccms thus to have been iiban- doned, there is one course still open to us to pursue. Wq can bring tlie Canadian Government to the bar of public opinion. Governments must always stand or fall, whether in C'tmada or other parts of the world, by public opinion, and I think I ;;''iull have the sympathy of the meeting with mo if I move the following lesolution : — •' That the conduct of the present Government of Canada "' in reference to the Postal remuneration due to the Company, *' and the detention of securities lodged i'ov the payment of *' debt ', long sin;'e discharged has, in th.e o2)inion of this *' meeting, ])een marked by injustice and bad faith, and if " persevered in will inflict a severe blow on the reputation *' nnd lionour of tlie province of Canada." JNow I am extremely sorry to arraign one of the principal Colonies of the Crown in this way in the City of Ijondon. I don't know what impressions, gentlemen, you may have derived from the newspapers, and other documents that liave come over from Canada in regard to this Grand Trunk Ptailway : but I have dt>iivcd this impression, that there is over there a very I'eckless feeling with regard to the whole of the capital invested in Canadian railways. (Cheers.) The feeling seems to Ix^ that they are uncommonly fortunate in having induced P)ritish capitalists to invest £'20,000,000 in their country ; but as to helping to give any fair remunera- tion to that capital tluit does not concern them in the leaht. and they don't mean to troulde themselves about it. (Hear, hear.) It may seem to be rather strange language, but I tliink it is warranted by the facts. AYl.en we were in the depth of our difhculties there were numerous articles pub- lished in a newspaper, the ])i'operty of a gentleman, who, I think, for three days held tlie office of premier ^f ''anadu, and lie really deliberated and argued seriously wliether the count rv would not be benefitted bv shuttinsr V 39 up tliis line ultogothor. Tliesc articles can be produced, and they coniirm my view that the Canadian Government cares not one jot wheilier tliose who have invested money in the country get any return or not. (Cheers.) Lut wc must tell them tliat this mode of dealing with ]5ritish capitalists cannot for a moment bo suffered, and we must show to them that it will entirelv shut them out from the money mai-ket of this country. (Cheers.) The colonies, must look to the mother country for the money to| carry out their enterprizes. I tr'st that this resolution will be sent over to Canada, so that the Canadian public and the Canadian Government may understand that if they want to come over here as borrowers — and from the state of their public revenues there is no doubt that thcv soon ill — tliey can only do it on much more onerous terms than they have ever done before (^Cheers.) I am sorrv to see a colony of Kn<;land sunk into this position, but if this want of good faith, so frequently manifested of late, is to be persisted in, the consequence is inevitable. Taking all these circumstances into consideration, and crowned h^ the detention of those Bonds, which are so much wanted for the inteicsts of this Company, we have a right to say that there is not that high standard of integrity and honour in the present Canadian Government which war- rants us in putting faith in tliom, or in any of their financial operations. (Loud cheers.) Mr. Haktkidge — I second that resolution. The CifAiKMAN — Before I put the resolution, let me caution you to draw a very broad distinction between tlie intellectual and educated, and even tlie humbler classes of the country, and a majority of the dozen men who for a time under widely democratic institutions may creep into the seats of power. I believe that there is as much good, earnest, truthful, and sin cere feelhig in Canada as in any other part of Tier Majesty's dominions, and the only ^alue I see in such a resolution as this is that it is a sort of aj)petd from you, from the Govern- ment, to the people of the pro\ ince. (Cheers.) T think that 40 an important community like yourselves is peri'eetly justified in makin<^ an appeal to the people of Canada. It is lor you to consider wlietlier it is desirable to do so or not. But certainly it nm^st be taken willi this caveat, tliat it is not meant, in any sense of the word, as an imputation on the general honour cf the Canadian peojde, but simply as an ex- pression of Aour opinions as bondholders and shareholders of the Grand Trunk llailway of the conduct of the existing Government of that country. (Loud cheek's.) Mr. II.VKTRiDGE— I second this proposition, because I am aware how much mischief has occurred to us by the Govern- ment of Canada not doing its duty, and because I thiidv that if we do not support the Directors by some such resolution, after "srliat has fallen from the President, it would appear as if we did not concur with them. I believe the Government are seriously injui'ing tlie nation as well as tliemselves by omitting to deal fairly ^^•it)l public questions of this kind, and I tliink we ought to express fearlessly our sense of such conduct. Bey. !Mr, (Jkeak — The language of the resolution is most precise, and can can only be interpreted to allude to the con- duct of the present Government. The CiiAiKiiAN — I think that the unanimous feeling of the sharei ciders would be to express deprecation of the course that has been pursued towards us by the Canadian Government, for not only do they fix the amount to be paid to us for postal subsidy, against evidence and beliind our backs, but they retain the money, wlu(;li they say themselves we ought to receive, in order to pay for some imaginary debt which they claim against this Compr.iy. I h>arn, howev<>r, that the Finance Minister of Canada may possibly be in England shortly on financial business, and perhaps on conside- ration it might appear rather ungracious to meet him under circumstances of that sort with such a resolution as this. We do not wish to do anytliing ungenerous, and on the eve of his visit here, when possibly he might be tlie bearer of some measure of conciliatic perhap be desirable 41 to pass a resolution of that description. The feehng of the Tueeting- has been elicited, and the object answered by the discussion which has taken place. Perhaps therefore the proposer of the motion under the cn-cumstances will agree to withdraw his motion. Rev. Mr. Ckeak then withdrew his motion. The Chairman— I have now to move, "That the shares mentioned in the list now produced be, " and the same are hereby declared forfeited for non-pay- " ment of the calls due thereon respectively." You will remember that in the prospectus there was some talk of £500,000 being contributed in Canada. The contri- bution from Canada fell very short, and it becomes necessary to forfeit a number of the shares taken there but never fully paid up. . , . , The resolution was seconded by Mr. Barmg, and earned unanimously. THE SPECIAL MEETING. The Chaiuman-I now declare the meetmg special, and ben- leave to move — , ,r . i j " That the terms of arrangement ^vith the Montreal and " Champhdn Ruihvay Company, as expressed m the copy " asreement now submitted, be approved and adopted, but " subject to such provisions being inserted in the agreement " as the Board may consider neci-ssary." Mr. IIoDc.soN, M.P , seconded the motion. The OHAlUMA^'-l« dealing with the mohon we will mos ,,...tainly consider what Mr. Hartridge said, am s ud act according to the best of our judgment when all the tacts of the case arc before us. _ The motion was put and carried unanimously. The Chainmu. announced that this concluded the busmess. On the motion of Mr. Coulson, seconded by Mr. lleron, a vote of thanks was unanimously conveyed to the Chairman and Board of Directors. The meeting then scpurated. 42 APPENDIX A. PETITION OF IlIGIIT. THE UKAND TTII^T^^^AILWAY COM- PANY OE A^ADA AND TIER MAJKSTV-. ATWRXEY-GEKEBAT. ^ ^^^^^^^^^ EUR ETEEK C^A^ADA " City of Toronto to wit, : To the Uououvablc rnir.u-Mu uak,, Va.n Kou..a,N.v,, OkanccUor of Upper Canada. « Tlv,t vou Petitioners were duly incorporated ^JfT^ iiiar \oa i Province of (anadu, pas^ecl m tne the provisions of that Act, ' 1^^\« ;'' Petitioners rtU;1i:Me^:= 1^;:;'^; !;:ars of t^e .i^n „f Her "MajcKty, chapter seventeen. 4',] "Tlio Oovornor of rniuidci in Cmmcil is tmtliorisod ami (•in|)()W(U'monts for the remuneration or indemnity for tlie transmission of llio mails and other mutters connected with posts and postal business. '' That in accordance with the provisions contained in the 8aid last-mentioned Act, an agreement was mack' by \our Petitioners and Her 3Iaiesty's Government for tlie said Province of Canada, through the Post Oihce Department, one of the departments of the said Government, for tlie carriage of the mails and the performance of Postal J*>ervicc by your Petitioners for tlie said (jfovernment, over the said line of railway, on or about the seventeenth day of August, m the year of our Lord one thousand eight liundrcd and lifty-three, and tliat such remuneration was then settled and agreed u])on between your Petitioners and the said Goveinment, at the rate of one hundred and ten dollars per mile ])er annum, but no fixed or determined time or period was then, or at any time since, arranged between your l\Hitioners and the said Government, for which the said Postal Service was to be continued at the said rate of re- muneration. "• That the said Government continued to pay your Petitioners for the said Postal Service from the time of the commencement, thereof, as aforesaid, until the month of October, in the year of our Tiord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, at the said rate of remuneration of one hundred and ten dollars per mile per annum, and from the said last-mentioned date claim that your I'etitioners should perfoi-m the said Postal Service for the remuneration of seventy dollars per mile per annum instead of the agreed I'ate of one hundred and ten dollars per mih) which had been formerly paid, although no notice has been given to your Petitioners, by the said Government, to put an end to the said tirst-mentioned agreement, and although your I'etitioners liave never, either directly or indiiectly, given theii" consent to any alteration in the said terms of remuneration until the month of August, A.I). 18()J,nor ever consented to reduce the rate to seventy dollars per mile per annum ; but on the contrary thereof, have ahvays insisted, and still do insist, that they are entitled to claim and receive from the said Government the said rate of one hundred and ten dollars per 44 mllo per annum u]) to the said month of Aun:ust, 18(11, together with an additional and inereased pnyment for the carriage of tlio (iniadian mails for tlie sa'd (Tovernmont over, a part of the line of railway of your Petitioners, from Ishmd Pond to Portland, in the State of Maine, one of the United States of Amorioa, for which no payment or remuneration has been received by your Petitioners from the said Govern- ment, '• That in tlie said month of August, 1861, your Petitioners, considering that tlie arrangement under which the sum of SI 10 per mile per annum was agreed to be paid by the said Goverment, should no longer exist, as the said line of rail- way- was then complete, and the said last-mentioned rate was an iniulequate remuneration for your Petitioners for the services ]>ei'formed in the conveyance of the said mails and the said Postal Services, by memorial to the said Governor in Council set forth their claims for such increased remunera- tion for the services performed by them in the carriiige of the mails as they were fairly worth, and invited the con- sideration of the said Government to the subject. "' That your Petitioners liave, from time to time, by various letters and communications addressed to the said Government, through the official heads of the departments of the said Government, the Postmaster-General, and the Secretary of the Province, called the attention of the said Government to the large balance due to your Petitioners from the said Government, and claimed the pay- ment thereof, and also claimed that the said rate of remu- neration for the Postal Service aforesaid, sliould be reconsidered by his Excellency the Governor-General of Canada in Council, in accordance with, the provisions of the aforesaid Act of the Legislature of Canada, with a view to a cl'^-ar and distinct understanding and agreement being arrived at between your Petitioners and the said Government, to all of which letters and connnunications your Petitioners refer when produced. " That the said Government and your Petitioners not being able to come to any agreement on the said rate of re- muneration from the said month of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, it Avas ao'reed between your Petitioners and the said Government that the settlement of the amount of the snid remuneration should be decided by arbitration, and accordijigly arbitrators 45 for that jmrpofo wore milt iially nnmod and clioson by your I'etitioncrs and tlie said Govenimcnt ; tlio ILjnouraljli; George MoH'att being the arbitrator named by tlie .said Government, and J. \V. IJrooks, Ksquire, being the arbitrator named by your I*etitioners, and the Ilonourable 'V\'illiam Henry Draper, then Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas in Upper Canada, being th.e third arbitrator, eliosen and agreed upon, between your I'etitioners and the said Government. " That after the appointment of the said arbitrators, with the knowledge and consent of tl.esaid Government and your Petitioners, they entered upon tlie business of tlie said refer- ence, and examined various documentary and olher evidence in reference thereto, and wliile they were so engaged in the said reference, tlie said Government, without any notice to, or consent of, ^'our Petitioners, by order in Council of the fourth day of Julv, in the vear of our I^ord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, revoked the said reference and refused to proceed further therein. " That no remuneration has been paid to your Peti- tioners for some years past, not even the rates agreed upon in the month of August, one thousand eight liuiidred and fifty-three, for the said Postal Service ; but, on the con- trary thereof, the said Government decline and refuse to make such payments to your Petitioners, or to consider the claim of your Petitioners, for a just and fair remuneration for past Postal Services, and on the fourteenth day of August, one thousand eight liundied and sixty-tliree, with- out any notice to, or consent of your Petitioners, tlie said Government, by an Order of the Governor-General in Council, did order and declare as follows : — '•'That the said Grand Trunk Company, (your Petitioners,) be allowed from this di'.te at the rate of sixty dollars per mile of lailway per annum for the follo\^ ing service, namely : one daily mail service each way between Toronto and Quebec by the Company's ordinary express passenger trains runnino' continuously and without any break of connection at any intermediate point ; one daily mail service each way between Toronto and Sarnia, and St. Mary's and liondon, by the Company's ordinary express trains ; one daily mail ser- vice each way between Quebec and Riviere du Loup by the Company's ordinary passenger trains ; and one daily mail ser^•ice exchange behvecn liichmond and the Boundary Line 46 by tlie Compnny'.s ordinary pass(>ngor triiiiis ; siirh trains rospectivcly beiii^ sui)plierl us liillierto witli travollin;;' post otHccs, properly warmed and li;j,'hted, and ('oin])risiii<^' ns neiirly as may be one-third of a car, iind exchan^inj^ niails at tli(^ way stations at wliieh tlic said trains ordinarily sloj). " ' That in case tlie (Annpany runs a second pa>,s<^n^i.';er train, expi-ess, accommodation, or mixed, in any part of t..e ■said line of railway between Sarnia and (iiiebec, between ]jondon and St. ]\tary's, or between luchniond and tlie Boundary Line, there be allowed to the said (^ompanv forty dollars per mile of railway, per annum, for each mile of railway covered by such second daily train, for the like use of the same. " ' That the aboye allowances include free passajjjes for such officers of the Post Oifice department as the I'ostmaster- General may from time to time retpiire to accompany the mails, or to travel on the railway on the business of the Post Office. " That long before this order in Council was made, your Petitionors by letter addressed to the Honouralde the Secre- tary of the Province, and dated the twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Jjord one thonsand ei5;ht hun- dred and sixty-two, had demanded that they should be heard and allowed to produce evidence, both in refcn-ence to their past and future remuneration for the Postal Service of the said Government, over their line of railway ; but, that the said Government never gave any answer to the said demand, and made and passed the said Order in Council last aforesaid without any notice to your Petitioners, and affixed an arbi- trary, unjust, and insufficient rate of remuneration for the said Postal Service, and made no order aor allowance for the past services, as justly claimed by your Petitioners as afore- said, according to the said agreement of one hundred and ten dollars per mile per annum. " Your Petitioners state that by an Act passed in the 2'jth year of her Majesty's reign, chapter 5(), all moneys to be received by your Petitioners from the Province for I*ostal Services are directed to be appropriated solely to the present debts of your Petitioners, owing either in Canada or in luig- land, to others than the Bondholders or holders of notaiial mortgages of your Petitioners, registered in Lower Canada ; and the arrangements, permitted by the said last-mentioned Act, have been carried out by your Petitioners and the 47 varums (.'Iushcs of iMiiidlioldors jiiul cnulitors inciitioiicd in llio isuid Act, on tlio faith that the said Postal moneys woidd he so appropriated. •• Your Petitioners cluirjie and chiini lliat, iinth'i' \]\v Sta- tutes of the I'rovinee of ( "i.iia(hi rehr;ing to tin' Postal Service on Piaihvavs, the (jovenior in Council. i;i inalsin make any eu- parte or. AMKNDKD PlVriTION. •' To TiiK (iiKKN's ;Mosi Excellknt Majksi'v, most liuinbly bc>>eecliing. <- The Gvand Trunk Ilailwuy ('ompiiny of Canada liunibly .show to your ^Majesty— *'Tliat vour rctitioncrs were duly Incorporatod l)y an Act ol' the Legislature of the Province of (.anada, passed in \ho sixteenth year of the rci-n of Her [Majesty (iiieen Victorui, chaptered thirty-seven, and entitled an ^ Act to meorporate the Grand Trunk llaihvay of Canada/ and under the pro- visions of that Act, and of various other A Ini' \ oiii' M;ii('.st \ '•< sjiid ( lo\rri!iiiriit o\('r' llic Miiil liiif ol' railwjiy on ur iiliotit llic >cv('iitri'iitli diiy III' Aiii;iisl. in llic \vny ot' our Loid one tliou^iiiid ri;;lit liiiii- (lrr*l iiiiil lilt N-llii'cc, iind tli:it siicli rciiiiiiirriii ion \\;isllici) srlllrd ;ind iiiiTCi'd upon l)t'l ween your I'd it iono's iind your .MiiicNl\'> >aid ( losoriitntMit \\\ the nilo ol' our lunidri'd jind tell dolliirs ju'r mile jut iinuuiu. liut no lixcd or ddoruiiut'd linu or |K'riod \\;i> then. t»r at any linii' >iiu'(', arranuod 1h>- iwccn \our I'ditioniM's and your Nlaj'-'^^ly's said ( Jovcrnnicnt. lor Nviiicii the said Postal Service was to he continued at the said rate ol' rennineiation. ••That your Majesty''* said ( JoNcrnnu'Mt coiit iuui d to pay \our I'ditioners I'or tlu'said Postal Services Iron; tlu' time of th(> coniuieiiccnu-nt thcrcol, as afort^said. until the month t>l' <*ctol)«M'. in the yeai' of our I ,oi(l one liiousand t'ij^ht hun- dred and tirty-ei!j;ht, at the same lato of remuntMal ion of one hundred and ten dollars |H>r mile ]um' ainunn, and from the said last-mentioned date tdaimthat your i'ditioners should perl'orm the said Postal Service for the icmuneration c^f s(>veiity (htllars per mile \)vi' aiiiuim instead of tlie au'i'eed rate of one hundred and \vn dollars pm" mlk> which had heen i'or- mi'rh paid, althoujih no notit-e has l)ccn ^iven to your Pditionei's hy your Majesty's snid (Government te put an end to the said ilrst-nuMiliout'd an'i'ciMnent. and althon;^h your Petitieners hav(^ never. eitluM' dii'ei'th or indirintlv, u"i^<''> iluMr consent to any alteration ni \\\v said terms of reminier- alion until tlu^ niontli of .Vui;usl, \.ii. ISdl, nor vwv eonscMited to rc^lnee the rale to ^e^^nlty dollars yvi mile \)cv annum ; hut, on the contrary ihercM)!', iiave always insist i-d, and still do insist, that they are i-ntilled to chiim and receive from youi' Majesty's said (.Jovernnient the said rat(> of on(> hundred and ten dollars ])er niiU> per annum up to the said month of ^Vu^usl A.i). 1S()1 . toj^t't her with an additional and iucreascMl ])aymenl for tlu> carriaui' of tlie Canadian .Mails for your Majesty's said (iovernment owv a j)art of the Hue of railway of your Petitioners from Island Pond to Portland, in the states of Maine, one of the United States of Aniei'ita, for wliicji no ])ayment or remuneration has heen received hy your I'eti- tioners from your ^lajesty's said (iovernment. "That, in the said month of Au^'ust. a.d. 18(vl, your Peti- tioners. con,>iderinii: that the arrangement under whieh the fr=um of ..Slid per mile per annum was agreed to he paid hy vour M nest v lid (TO\ernnient should no Iouu'M' exist as ra iiid line (if rtilhvjiy was llicri i())in>l»'t(\ iind tlic said last- inciilionrd ratt' was ina(l('(l the e(»nsidcralioii ol' yoiii- .Majesty's said (ioNcin- inent to the sui)ject. •* That your I'et ilionei's have IVom time to time, i)y various letters and comnuiiiications addre>.--t'd to \dur Maje>t\'s said (iov(M'njnent, through ihi" ollicial lieads uf the (le[»ai'tm(nts (tl' the said (iovernment, tlie I'ostmash r-tienend, and the Secretai-y of the l*ro\iiict>, called the alleiilioii of \(iiii' ^lajesty's said ( loxcniiiieiit to tlie lar;^i' halance^ due t(» yoiii- ]V>tit ioners from y(»iir Majesty's >aiil (io\'erinnent, and (daimed the payment theieof. and al^o elaimed that the s.iid rate of icmuneratioii for the Postal Sei'vice afore-^aid should be reconsidered hy his ivxcelleiicy the (io\eni<)r-( leiieral of (^inada in Council, in accord;;nce with the jjrovi^ions of the aforesaid .Vet of the Le^islatu:'e of ('aiiada, with the view to a (dear and distinct undcrstandine- and ajireemenl bc-ini>- ai-rivod at belut'cn your J'ctil ioners aiul your Majesty's said (jovtU'nuKMit of Canada, to .dl of wh' ii Ictteis and e(/Ui- munications your Petitioners luuuhly heg- leave to lefer. "That vour .Majesty's said (Government and your Pet it ioners not bein;^' al)l(> to amiv to any a^ieement on the said rate oi remuneration from the month of Octohei', in \]\r year of our liord one tliousand ment of the amount of th(> said remuneration should hv decided by arbitration, aiul accor Georj^'e ^lotfatt b(>iu<>' the arbitrator nanu'd by your jNlajesty's said Government, and J. W. ]iro()ks, Ksq., beniii' t he arbitrator naincHl by your Petition(M's ; and the llonourabk' William Henry Drajier, the (,'hief Justice of the Court of (,'ommon Pleas in lil)por Canada, beinjv tlio third ai'biti'ator chosen tnid agreed upon bct\veeTi your I'etitiouers and your Alaiesty's said Government, '' That after the appointment of th<^ said ai'bitralors wdth the knowl and consnt decline and refus,-; to make such payment to your Petitioners, or to consider tlie claim of your Petitioners for a just and fair remuneration for past Postal Services ; and on the fourteenth day of Augirst, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, without any iiotic;e to or c(msent of your Petitioners vour Maiestx's said Government, by an order of the Governor-General in Council, did order and declare as follows : — •' 'That tlie .■«aid(Tl rand Trunk Goinpany, (your PtlitioiKTs,) be lowed fronitliis date, at the rate of sixty dollars per mile of railway ])er annum, for the following service, namely, one daily mail service e.adi wav between Toronto and Quebec, by tlie Company's ordinary express passenger trains, running con- tinuously, and without any break of connection at any inter- mediate point. *' ' One daily mail service each wa^', between Toronto and Sarnia, and St. Mary's and London, by the Company's ordinary express trains. One daily mail service eacli way between Quebec and Ptiviere du Loup, by the Company's ordinary pas- sen gc niond X y tj X t/ — t/ X. n* trains, and one daily service each way between llicli- L and the boundary line, by the (\mipany's ordinary passenger trains, such trains respectively being supplied as hitherto yxiili travelling post offices pi'operly warmed and lighted, and comprising as nearly as may be one third of a car, and exchanging mails at the way stations at which the said trains ordinarily stoj). That in case the Comi)any runs a second passenger train, express, accommodation, or mixed, on any part of the said line of railway between Sarnia and Quebe.', lietween London and St. ^Liry's, or between llich- mond and the Pound ar\- Line, there be allowed to the said ^ 53 (Company forty clollnrs per mile of railway per annum for each mile of 'raihvay covered by such second daily tram for the lilve use of the same. .,,,,. ^c " ' That the above allowances mclude the free passages ot such officers of tlie Post Office Department as the 1 ost- master-General may, from time to time, require to accomi3any the mails, or to travel on the -dhvay on the busmess ot the Post Office.'" . n ■^ 1 "That lono- before this Order m Councd was made, youi Petitioners by letter addressed to the Honourable the becre- tary of the Province, and dated the twenty-nmth day ol November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- dred and sixty-two, had demanded that they should be heard, and allowed to produce evidence both m reference to their past and future remuneration for the Postal Service of your Maiesty's said Government over their Ime ot railway; but that your Majesty's Government never guye any answer to the said demand, and made and passed the said Order m Coun- oil last aforesaid without any notic^e to your Petitioners, and affixed an arbitary, unjust, and insufficient rate of remunera- tion for the said lV)stal Service, and made no order nor allowance for the past services so justly claimed by your Petitioners as aforesaid according to the said agreement ot one hundred and ten dollars per mile per annum ^ " Your Petitioners state that by an Act passed m the 25th year of your Majesty's reign, chaptered 50, allowances to be received by voui Petitioners from the Provmce for Postal seivices are' directed to be appropriated solely to the present debts of vour Petitioners owing either m Canada or m En-land to others than tlie Bondholders or holders of nota- rial" mortgages of your Petitioners registered m Lower CaiachC and%he arrangements permitted by the saKl last- mentioned xVct have been carried out by jw Petitioners, Tncl the various classes of Pondliolders and creditors men- ZLl in the said Act, on die faith that the said Postal Services would be so appropriated. " Your Petitioners humbly represent to your ISIajesty that, under the statutes of the Province of Canada, relatmg to the Postal Service on railways, the Governor m Council m making any decision upon the remuneration to be al owed to Ty iCiilway Company, act as a judicial body and cannot and ought not to make any r.r p.rf. order or judgment with- out giving to my Kailway Company mterested m such deci- 54 sion an opportunity of adducing evidence, and being heard on the subject of such remuneration. " That the said r rders in Council lastly and firstly men- tioned were so made ex ^j^r^t?, and without notice to your Petitioners, or any opportunity being afforded them of ap- pearing or giving evidence before the said Governor in Council, and ought therefore to be annulled and set aside. "Your Petitioners further humbly represent to your Majesty that your Majesty's said Government sometimes claim that they withhold the payment of the moneys due by your Peti- tioners for advances made to your Petitioners by your Majesty's said Government, and that your Majesty's said Government have a right to withhold the same until the said advances are paid, whereas your Petitioners hereby represent that by the provisions of the said last-mentioned Act, which are binding on your Majesty and your Majesty's said Government, the said Postal moneys are expressly ap- propriated for the purposes in the said Act mentioned, and cannot be withheld from your Petitioners for these purposes without a breach of faith and violation of trust on the part of your Majesty's said Government. " Your Petitioners are informed and believe that they are entitled to relief in the premises by petition of right to your Majesty, and all of which matters by your Petitioners above alleged your Petitioners are ready to verify in such way or manner as may be convenient. Your Petitioners must there- fore most humbly pray that your Majesty will be graciously pleased to order that right be done in this matter, and to en- dorse your Royal declaration thereon to that effect, and to re- fer the Petition with such your Royal order and declaration thereon to your Majesty's Court of Chancery for Upper Ca- nada, and that this Petition may be duly received and en- rolled, and that your Majesty's Attorney-General for Canada West, being attended with a copy thereof, may be required to answer the same, and that your Petitioners may hence- forth prosecute their complaint herein in such Court, and take such other proceedings herein as may be necessary agains^. the said Attorney-General as representing the rights and interests of your Majesty, and that for ti at purpose your Petitioners may have leave to make such Ittorney-Gencral a party hereto, and to pray to obtain such relief in the matters aforesaid, as under the circumstances hereinbefore stated shall be just. " And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever prav." ♦ »> ,i.