COURT OF BANKRUPTCY,—BASINGHALL-STREET.-January 11.

Colonist, Issue 53, 23 April 1858, Page 4

COURT OF BANKRUPTCY,—BASING-HALL-STREET.-January 11.

(Before Mr. Commissioner Goulburn.) IN RE THE AUSTRALIAN AUXILIARY STEAM CLIPPER COMPANY—LIMITED.

This was a petition undef the' Joiiit-Stock Companies .Act, 1856 and 1857, for a winding up order against; the above company. It appeared from the petition that thecompany Was formed '; [ in' Septernlier;, .1856, hayirjg its offices :at No. ,T7 r^CprnhilJ,; and that tne petitioning creditors are the go.verr riors and company of the Bank of Bcotlarid, carrying on business Jat Edinburgh. The ciairn.is in the form of a judgment oh a bill : % oi s exchange -for: ;£2OOO,- dirawn by J..H.:: Brown and Co. upon the company, and endorsed by the said J, H. ißrpwn and Co., also by Robert James Blrown and Co., and the Northumberland and Durham District ! Banking Company. , : ! HisHorjor fixed, the 25 th: of January,5 at : 11, for hearing the petition. i - A printed prospectus of the company i furnishes the following'information:—The capital was £250,000, in 10,000 shares of 1 £25 each; deposit, £5 per share. Direc--1 tors—Mr. John Gillespie. (James Barber and Co), merchant, 136, Lcadenhall-street; Mr. Henry Hoffman, merchant, Broad-street-buildings ; Mr. Robert James Brown (R. J. -Brown and Co.),' merchant and shipowner,- Sunderland;- Mr. John V. Gooch, civil engineer, Great George-street, Westminster; and Mr. Joseph Spence (Woods, Spence/ and Co1.), merchant and shipowner, Sunderland. The company was announced to be formed for the purpose of establishing a direct communication between London and Australia by means ot fast sailing clippers with auxiliary powers' to propel them in light winds and calms. This combination, as proved by recent experiments, would entirely obviate the well--1 known delay and uncertainty which occur- . red in the qase of the present,clipper ships: at the same time there would-be' immense Mayings in other ways. The directors, having, received subscriptions from £^0,000 'tb £80,000, had purchased various vessels; *these they proposed to run from* London to Melbourne. The 'only reason the respective owners had for transferring their property to the company was that vessels of ■ the proposed class could be more advantageously worked in a line, to attain which object they were desirous of securing cooperation and increased capital. , Two calls of £5 per share would be made at inter - vals of three months, and no further payment would be required without Uhree months' notice. It required but a casual \ inspection of the weak and strong points of ,the two systems, and this proved that,- , though the proposed vessels would cost only about one-half of the amount of those lately employed, and consume only one-ninth of the quantity of coals, yet they would carry ■ three times the quantity of cargo, and make the passages in less or at least the same time. To this statement is affixed a table showing that all the costs incident upon the voyage of one vessel to Melbourne would be £7669, and the receipts £13,800; .showing a profit of .£6130 upon each voyage of a single vessel. ' This showed favourable results, and it was more to be relied upon as.the directors had determined toi transact the business of the company in that economical manner to which the success of private enterprises was often solely to be attributed. A statement now furnished shows that

the whole of the capital that can be legally called up has been paid, and that the company's unsecured debts are 426,000, and its assets (subject to realization) £7<?,000, The latter, it is trusted, will at least,suffice to pay the creditors in full and^eaye a small surplus. , .

Suicide of Mr. Charles Freer. —Yes, gentle reader, it is a fact, this once popular and favourite actor committed suicide on Wednesday evening, or earty 'on Thursday morning last, at his lodgings, a coffee-house, in Broad-court, ,Westminster-bridge, - near Cannon-row. He retired to Test on Wednesday evening seemingly depressed m spirits, and on Ihursday morning, upon his landlady going to his room to-sec if herequired any breakfast, found his throat lacerated in two places, but still alive.' „ A stretcher was obtained, and he was instantly removed to the Westminster hospital, where every aid was rendered, but" m hajf ah hour after he died. It is to'be leafed that his reversed circumstanc.es r have led to the rash act. He ,is supposed to have, .been born at Malta,, in, 1802, where his,father held a commission. His first appearance on the stage was* at Portsmouth, abput 1824-5, from thence he proceeded to Salisbury, and joined that respectable manager, Mr. Penson. After being -■ some tinie, with him he emigrated to Nottingham;' \ah'd Toecame a member of the carps dramatique of that eccentric but excellent old manager", Mr. Manley, whose daughter he ultimately married™; He was afterwards', for! yjears a great favourite at \he East-ejid.! .Whenever his'name was announced crowds-flocked. In some of his delineations there was much to be admired. rWho, once, haying,,seen him, would forget his acting in, ihVVagyant and his Family? When in the Zenith of his popularity, he entered the putilic line, and took a house in Sho^edijchl fjfom which vye believe he dated the-commencement of his misfortunes, .Upon the failure of this, he went to America,'where,'after-acting but one night, he f was laid updn a be.d } <pf ,/sickness for nine months. t He achieved gr.eat success afterwards'in the minor drama,' but returned to this country-with, a shatterfel constitution, and in a .degree, forgotten^' as younger,actors ha^ filled^his place.,. For the last,few years he >has derived but«little from his professional serviced, 'and'h'as been at times in great distress, which', has'iii p'^rt been alleviated "by his' brother actors.— lira, Dec. 27. -