GRAND CANAL OF IRELAND Grand Canal. Defence of the Court of Directors; including a statement of the true situation of the Company's affairs; made by the Hon. Sir William Cusack Smith, Bart. at a general meeting of the Company, held at the Mansion House, on the 25th day of November, 1815, for the purpose of hearing and determining certain complaints preferred against the directors. Dublin, (1815)
8vo. viii + 52pp. Orig. wrprs. The first section of the Grand Canal opened in 1779 and over the ensuing years other branches were built. However, by the early years of the 19th century the financial position of the Company was in a very unsatisfactory state, a situation that was exacerbated by the Napoleonic wars. In 1815, a group of angry shareholders demanded an explanation, being particularly critical of the high remuneration paid to the directors and suspicious of the way the Company was managed. The present item contains the long defence read by Sir William Cusack Smith, which includes an explanation of the management of the collieries owned by the Company, discusses the way its landholdings were handled, shows that the directors were not guilty of taking financial advantage of their position, and explains their policy on tolls. As a result the directors were acquitted of all charges.
£180
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