The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-04-06 00:00:00

IDorzetobire.

BRIDPORT RAILWAY.

length,

The half:yearly meeting of this Company took
place at their offices, in Bridport, on Tuesday J
Gundry, Esq., Chairman of the Board of Dirertors-
presided. The report announces that the bill for the
construction of the line was sanctioned on the sth of
May, 1856; the works commenced on the 19th
June follovring, and on the 12th 18
of November of
,the railway was opened. By the end of Januarys7,
1859, 9,688 Passengers and 2,612 tons of goods
coal, besides parcels, had been conveyed aafe ly d
the line without oxidant, loss, or injury. The Chafe:
man remarked Nin this close subject a that it was a of
.
congratulation to them that their line had cl the
first five months without any accident The next cl
of the report stated that this statem o ent fth a°B°
could sot be taken as a fair test of what mayetm ffibec
reasonably ruiticipated when time hoe more com-
pletely developed it. The directors hope more espe-
cially for an increase in the passenger traffic during
the summer months. The iairni an observed that
-
it was a suicidal policy of those persons, who, fancy.
ing themselves overcharged by the Railway Corn.-
pony, were now getting their goods brought through
other channels, it was well-known that until the
opening of the railway these reduced rates of charges
had not been offered by the parties who now were
induced to convey them at less than cost rates • but
this, of course, they could not long pursue, and it
was to the interest of the inhabitants of Bridport to
support the railway. The third clause of the report
was The accounts rendered by the Great Western
Railway Company of the receipts and expenses, are
in course of careful examination by the directors, but
have not been given sufficiently early, or with sutfi•
cient information to enable them to investigate all
the details in so careful and satisfactory a manner as
would justify their preparing any revenue account for
the small portion of the half-year ending 31st
December, 1857, up to which date only
those accounts have been furnished ; the three.
tore therefore propose making up the first reve•
flue account to June 30, 1858, to -be laid before the
proprietors at their next half-yearly meeting." The
Chairman went into detail on this portion of the re-
port. They had received but one account from the
Great Western Company, and that account was of a
more mixed nature than future accounts would be,
and, no doubt, contained many items which ought
to be carried to the capital account. The report,
however, was far from satisfactory to him (the Chair.
man). On rolling stock, they had, according to their
agreement with the Great Western Company, to pay
.5 per cent. Of course this rolling stock had to be
valued, and Mr. Pearson, of Bristol, was chosen
by both parties as their referee. At the time
ef rendering the account on the 31st of December,
be had not been called to give his valuation of the
stock, as the directors were unwilling to have it
valued until they actually knew what rolling stock
they required. This report of Mr. Pearson the di-
rectors had not yet received. The charge made for
the working expanses alone is about 70 per cent. It
is true the graduti, on this line are bad, but those
on other lines of which the expenses are far leas, are
as bad or worse. The Chairman quoted various
items in which reduced charges might be made by
the Great Western Company, and then read the next
clause of the report ; The directors regret that
hitherto it has not been practicable to effect a better
arrangement of the trains, an as to efficiently accom-
modate the traffic between Bridport and South-
ampton, and the several intermediate towns. The
attention of both the Great Western and the London
and South Western Companies has been seriously
called to the present defective arrangements, and.
from the assurances held out, the directors hope a
better system will be adopted. In the meantime,
they will not relax in their efforts to induce both
companies to amend their present arrangements in
this respect. The directors also regret that the
arrangement of the rates of charges for the convey-
ance of goods has not been so good as could have
been wished. But from the readiness expressed
by the Great Western Company to meet all
fair and reasonable suggestions ins fair and honorable
spirit, the directors have every hope of getting the
goods traffic placed on a satisfactory footing.
in referring to the half-yearly statement of accounts,
which gave receipts £85,915 98. 4d., and payments,
£90,555 18a. 3d., the directors much regret that the
estimate has already been very much exceeded by the
cost, notwithstanding their most 1111xiOUB endeavours to
keep down the expenditure as much as possible; but
there is some comfort in the consideration that, as
compared with other railways, this will still be by
no means a costly line." With regard to this per'
tion of the report, the Chairman briefly referred to
the causes of the excess of outlay which had been,
first, in the purchase of the land • but by far the
greater excess in the construction of the line, owing
to engineering difficulties, of which they were
aware. To provide for the payments necessary for
bringing the railway to its present state of complete•
nese, the directors have made themselves personally
responsible to the bankers to the extent of £4,000.
According to the beet calculations the directors
are able to make, they hope that £5,000 beyond the
company's present capital, and the amount already
guaranteed will suffice to complete the undertaking.
It was impossible that the liabilities could be liqui-
dated without funds, and unless the necessary amount
were furnished he should feel it his duty, as one of
the directors, immediately to resign his seat at their
board. He would not, as a man of honour, allow
himself to remain a member of that board unless full
powers were given them to liquidate the debt.
When the £4,000 was required he thought himself
right in joining with the other directors in giving
the necessary guarantee; but when he found more
was required he thought the most honourable and
straightforward course was to tell them plainly his
intentions. He further reminded them that up-
wards of £90,000 bad already been expended in the
construction of their line, and asked them if, after
having spent that sum, they would allow it to be
sacrificed'? Ho read the means suggested by the
directors for raising the necessary funds. As re-
garded the guarantee already entered into by the
directors, they (the directors) would be satisfied
with the same security as the shareholders them•
selves would be satisfied with. If the funds were
not raised, he reiterated that he should withdraw
from the Board. He moved the adoption of the
report, which was seconded by Mr. Sinitit—Mr.
Colfox, the deputy-chairman, also stated that he
should be prepared to follow the course indicated by
the Chairman if the necessary funds were not raisftl.
—Mr. Morris Roper asked what was the income and
expenditure of the railway up to December 31st ?
Mr. Mathisson stated that the cost of working had
been £439, and the receipts £Bl3 13s. Bd. The
Fens. of working the lb., without the cost of re.
ingthe permanent way, which had been defrayed
himself, wee 2s. 94. per mile. Comparing this
with the other lines—the cost of the Great Western
was fie. 81d. i the Shrewsbury branch, 21. Kendal
and Windermere, ls. 11d. london and South.
Western, 2s. 2d. one or two lines in Scotland even
lower—one in particular, running six miles, is, 30.1
the Feeble. line, 18 miles, 16.1 d., on which the
gradients are worse than on the Bridport line. It
was to him, as of course to all of them, a matter of
regret that their connection with the Great Western
Railway Company was not productive of more prao•
tioal benefit, but unless some arranpment could be
made, and the line made to pay, ite tuthe could not
be carried on. Mr. Mathiseon Author stated that,
estimating the earnings of the Bridport line at
£8,04.10 per annum, the Great Western might be
fairly considered to get an WOMAN to their traffic
from this lino of 41-3,000 a year, whioh would
yield them a profit of more than £lO,OOO a year.
Hs reiterated his statement, that they_ had not re-
ceived that support from the Great Western Corn'
pany which they really ought to have reuived,and
be felt confident that if a proper arrangementwere
entered into there would be eve!y prospect, or the
line paying.—Mr. Knight asked if the thareholders
were not bound for a certain time to the Great
Western Company t—Mr. Flight said they were
morally bound as men of honour to the Great
Western Company, so long as that company fairly
acted up to their agreement.—Mr. F. W. Gluitiry
inquired whether the Great Western Company had
entirely acted up to their agreement with the Britt.
port Company 7—The Chairman would not, re Chair.
man, venture an opinion on this matter. He pre.
mimed, however, that they oould not entirely have
worked up to their agreement. —Mr. F. W. Clundry
wished to know if the expenses of the first 7 weeks
continued every 7 weeks in the same proportion?—
Mr. Mathisson thought they would, unless they
oame to more favourable terms with the Groat Wes.
tern Company.—A Shareholder from Lyme asked if
the Directors of the Bridport Railway had tom•
munioated at all with the -Great Western, In order
to have • redress of their grievances I—The Chair-
man said there had certainly been oomplainte made
to them, but without any practical result —Mr. F.
W. Gundry could not sanction the adoption of the
report without making an additional resolution to
the following effect :—That inasmuch as it iippeare
from the return' already obtained from the Great
Western Railway Company, that, without some
material alteration of the existing arrangements,
there is but little certainty of funds being obtained
from the dear revenue of the line to pay the interest
on any further advances it is, therefore, essential
that such alterations be made in the working arrange-
ment with the Great Western Railway Company as
will ensure the prospect of • fair remuneration to the
shareholders of the Bridport Railway Company being
obtained' and a committee is hereby appointed to
confer with the directors of both companies with the
view of effecting this object ; or in the event of that
being impracticable, of devising other means of work.
Mg the line. The oommittae to °omelet of Mr. Wo,
Hounsell, Mr. William Henry Chick, and Mr.
Kenneth Mathiesun ; and to report to a special '
meeting of shareholders to be held at the company's
offloes, on a future day, notice of which meeting will
be duly given'—Mr' H.
Templer seconded the
resolution, commenting on the sots of the Great
Western Compan,, and stating his deuretebeolinoeie
the traffic on the line rather than submit to
posed on by that
or a more safe and Company. He thought this com-
pany
had
t the nothe m" in
their
owf
hands and could
make erpary arrangements
just mode of workinii than had hitherto been f
mad
:_
'The Chairman observed that having been one

itfolse who made the 'agreement, he ‘,oconti WO.Chimseit
airiv. to gtt rid of it by 'a techinical objection.—A
GU'llndisury, ed between Mr. B.
and the Chairman.
Mt. OmpPir wished entirely to remove the onus of
the ,000 which already was placed on the directors,
end for his part would give them full powers for
raising the necessary funds, but he wished the Great
Western Company to know that the sharhholdere
would rather pay money to go to ?ornament to
nullify the agreement with them, than to Wee pre-
ference shares at 6 per ceht, and the Great Western
Company, to receive the Inn benefit of those shares.
The Chananan trusted the meeting would confine
themselves now to the report, and he felt it his duty
to state that unless that report received the argent of
the shareholders he should no longer feel jiudified in
remaining at the board of directors—Mr. F. W.
Gundry did not wish to adopt the report if it were
to bind him to follow out the suggestions of the di.
rectors in that report. Its did not wish it to be said
another day, "You adopted the report, and are
therefore bound to find means suggested in that re-
port"—Mr. Barnicott suggested an adjournment of
the tneeting, but this met with general disapproba-
tion.—After much discussion it was at length agreed,
on the suggestion of Mr. JEUTICti Williams, that the
report be adopted, with the omission of the following
clause :—" The directors recommend that the monies
to be so raised shall be secured by a preference stock
at 6 per cent., to be first offered rateably to the par-
ties who have signed the present guarantee, and to
those proprietors who shall previously to the herein-
after mentioned notice in that behalf, have joined in
a guarantee for securing the excess above that already
guaranteed, in the meantime." In the next clause
the omission of the words "immediate" and "now"
were ordered, and the total omission of the clause
following that.—After further discussion, the report,
as amended by Mr. James Williams, was adopted.
The resolution of Mr. F. W. Gundry was also put
and carried unanimously.— The Chairman remarked
that as the report was partially adopted, he would
remain at the board of directors in the interim, till
the committee appointed by the shareholders had
concluded their arrangements, but he should refuse
to incur any further personal liabilities.—Mr.
Richard Groves complained that the charges for the
conveyance of butter and other goods by the Great
Western Railway were very much higher than on the
London and South Western. —The formal business of
the meeting was now entered into. Messrs. T. Legg
and J. F. Stephens were re-elected directors, and
Mr. James Williams auditor.—A vote of thanks to
the retiring directors, to the Chairman and Directors,
with the reply of those gentlemen, concluded the
business of the day.

Sims°Rwa.—ln his sermon on Sunday morning
week, the V icar announced that on Easter Sunday it
was proposed to commence the introduction into the
services of the church of the Salisbury Hymn Book
—a hymnal compiled by Earl Nelson, and issued
with the approval of the Bishop of Salisbury.

ISITRARY ISTTTUTION. -The quarterly meet-
ing of 'subscribers to this institution was held
on Monday evening week, Mr. Hawkins, in the chair,
when it appeared from the financial statement pre-
sented, that during the quarter £74 98. has been
received, of which £l7 ss. were from subscriptions;
£6 lls. 6d. from the ordinary lectures ; £22 184 6d.
from Mr. Macresday's reading; and £27 14s. from
Mr. Thackeray's lecture. £ll 6s. has been contri-
buted to the Prize Fund of the amalgamated societies,
and of the balance of £46 in hand, £lll2s. 6d will
be devoted to meet the expenses of the evening
classes, and.£24 10s. 6d. will be expended in addi-
tions to the library.

On Sunday morning week the Lord Bishop of
Cape Town preached in the Abbey, taking for his
text St. Matthew xxiv., 14. The right rev, prelate
also preached in the afternoon from ftomans x.,
12-15; and in the evening before the scholars of
King's School, selecting for his text St. Matthew
xi, 22. The collections, in aid of the Cape Town dio-
cese, amounted to £26 10s. On the following even-
ing a public meeting took place at the Tov.mhall,
under the presidency of the vicar of Sherbome, the
Rev. It. Harston. There was a good attendance,
and £8 were collected at the close.

Suarrnant mt.—There la a very beautiful stained
glass memorial window preparing at Shrewsbury, in-
tended to be placed in Stourtan Church. The lights
bear inscriptions as follows: "In memory of Sir
Hugh Richard Hoare, hart. Died January 10th,
1857, aged 69." "Dame Anne Tyrwhitt Hoare,
daughter of Thomas Drake Tyrwhitt Drake, Req., of
Shardeloes. Died March 23, 1847, aged 55.'

STORMINSTEIt PETTY SESSIONS, Monday, March 29th.
--(Before the Rev. H. Boucher, chairman, Montague
Williams, Esq.' and Colonel Malet.)—Robert Jeans,
the landlord of the Crown beer-house, Stalbridge, was
summoned by Superintendent Hammond for allowing
drunkenness and disorderly conduct in his house, on the
12th ult. Police constables Samson and Batty proved
the offence. Mr. Hammond informed the bench that
the house in question was the worst conducted beer-
house in the division, and that the defendant had been
twice previously convicted ; under those circumstances
the bench convicted the defendant in the penalty of £5.
—Joyce Jarvis, of Marnhull, beerhouse-keeper, was
summoned by Superintendent Hammond, for having
his house open after 10 o'clock on the night of the Sth
ult. Mr. Dashwood appeared for the defendant. P.C.
Samson proved going to the defendant's house at a
quarter before 12 on the night in question, when he
found a man in the taproom, and a cup containing beer
on the table, and two days afterwards the defendant
pressed him to accept a glass of beer, and not to say
anything about it. The defence set up was, that the
person who was found in the house came there for the
purpose of attending to a cow that was ill, belonging to
the defendant. Mr. Hammond called the attention of
the bench to the fact that Mrs. Jarvis did not make
any such statement to the constable when he visited
her house, but had actually pressed the witness to take
a gloss of beer by way of a bribe, not to report the case.
The bench considered the case to be proved, but as there
did not appear to be any aggravating circumstances,
they should convict the defendant in the sum of Is.
and costs.—Robert Moore, of Stalbridge, was charged
with stealing a drake, the property of Thomas Dog•
gerell of the same place, value 25. ed., on the 28th ult.
I The prisoner consented to be tried by the bench. The
I case was very clear, P.C. Batty having found the drake
coacealed in an outhouse, belonging to the prisoner's
father. The constable also found • quantity of feathers
I in the prisoner's pocket, which exactly corresponded
with those on the drake. The bench convicted the
prisoner, and sentenced him to one calendar month's
hard labour.—John Whitt, of Hilton, WU summoned
by the police for wilfully obstructing the highway, at
Haselbury Brian, by leaving • wagon and three horses
thereon unattended. The defendant pleaded guilty, and
was fined fis, and onto,— - James Drake and Joseph
Candy, of Stoke Wake, and William Paddock of Basel.
bury Brian, were summoned by Herbert Thorne of the
former place, for an assault. Mr. Dashwood appeared
for the complainant, and Mr. Long for the defendants
and the bench after hearing the evident* convicted
Drake and Candy in the penalty of ea. each, and onto i
Paddock in the sum of Is. ild and min.—Elisabeth
Dowding, of Sturminstor, v. George Spencer of the same
place for wilfully damaging a door. Mr. Dashwood
appeared for the oomplainant, and Mr. Long for the
defendant. The bench was satisfied with the evidence
and ordered the defendant to pay the amount of damage
and oasis—Thomas Russell, of Shroton, was charpd
by Esther Russell his wife with an assault and using
threatening language towards her. The oomplainut
said they had been married 90 years, and all she wished
for was, that her Ituaband might be bound over to keep
the peace towards her, and the bench, after a suitable
caution from the Chairman' bound the defendant over
In his own recognisance in the sum of glo to keep the
peen for twelve months, and to pay the costa. The
wife said she would pay the latter brie nut meeting,
and the parties both left tile court ether.--James
Hatcher, of Child Okeford, aged , was charged by
Phcebe Rogers of Shillinpton, with rtfusing to obey an
order of allillaVon, and was oorntnltted for the opus of
three inonbhs.