The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-04-17 00:00:00

ABBOTSBURY RAILWAY COMPANY.

II ICTING OF Tag BRARZHOLDIL9.
The balf-yesrly =retain' of the shareholders of this
company was held at the Royal Hotel, Weymouth, on
Fri lay afternoon last. Mr. R. Passmort Edwards
(obairmes) presided, rod the other directors present
were Mr. John Walker, Mr. James Hamby, and Mr.
William Adamson Barron ; also Mr. William Maufield
(secretary), Mr. E lwin Burnett (solicitor of the C3lll-
- Mt. S. C. Burleigh (of the firm of Green and
Burleigh, the contractors), Ths Mayor (Mr. B. N.

- •
Howard) sent • nassiesoger to say he WY sorry not to
be presoak being preventad by illness. About 60
shareholders attended, among whom we noticed Mr.
With (the Bari of Ilche>ter's steward), Mr. Hopson,
1. Ur. James Bows, Mr. T. B. Groves, Mr. John Groves,
Mr. Alderman Thomas, Mr. W. Hardy bianfield, Mr.
Cole, Kr. ararles, Mr. Northover, Mr, Poynter, Mr.
Cooper, Mr. OIL Manfield. Mx. B. U. Maafield, Mr.
Whedtern, Mr. Brown, Mr. Job Cs:, Mr. Williams,
Mr. Cornlck, Mr. Vincent, Mr. ParlOn% Mr. Godwin,
Mr. Medway, Mr. Guy, several ladies, an, be.
The meeting had been called and specially convened
for the purpose of electing two directors in the place of
the same number who retired by rohtion, and for the
general purposes of bullies's, which business was the
submitting of the following resolutions ;-
1. To autactrise the creation and isms of the Stocks
Inter the powers of "The Abb.itibury Railway At:,
ISM"
X. To authorise the Divirlon of Shares into Preferred
and D 'fervid Hall Share, under the powers Putted to
the Company by "Th. Abbotebury Hallway Act, lfG7."
TOO QM/IMAM, in hi. opening remarks, expressed
the hope that the meeting would be • plowing an 1
satisfactory one to all. They were own, there, he
said, in the first place to mord certain definite resolu-
tions, out of which would grow immediately the oom-
mencunerit of tits coostruction of the line. Perhaps
they would expect him to say why was it they had not
beim to eime them before—(hew, hear)—and why so Long
a time had elapse! since last meeting them thews.
His roes ,ns for that, he had uo doubt, would be
anticipated by most of them. The MOOS WM they
had had so little to tell tuem—go little that wee
encouraging and eatisfantory, that they thought it
would be almost • waste of their tune to call
them together. He need not tell them the
directors had been,diligently and anxiously eogaged,
since they last met them there, in bringing
the liue up to the pueltmo ta which it stood
at the present time. He was sorry to say
that up till now they had not succeeded to the extent
of their wishes in getting seythisig definite. But he
was glad to say they had at last been suooresful in
ififtting a highly competent and respectable firm to
Gerry on the line—a firm perfectly competent for the
Work, and he, therefore, bad very much pleasure in
being able to introduce to them Mr. Stirlen/li, of the
'firm of Meier,. Green and Burleigh, who had already
esters,' Into an I signed a c,ntreet for carrying out the
line. (Hear, hear.) Toey had also been succemful
In getting a gentlemsa who would be a wdoome
acquisition to the MAIS.Iof Directors, viz., Mr. Barron,
• well-known engineer, who would do all he could to
assist In carrying out the objects of the mooting.
Their first business wag to re-elect, if they wore so
diepoged, the two retiring direct irs, viz., himself and
Mr. Walker. It was not for him to say whether be
had fulfilled hie dutiee as faithfully as be ought, or I,
their satisfaction. All he °knell so was be had done
the beet he possibly coal!, be had devoted • great
deal of anxious time, cars, and thought, and heel
striven to his utmost to brine the line to what it was
at the present moment. If they thought he was
worthy the honour, he should be pleased to accept it,
and he begged to off sr himself for re-election. Mr.
Walker was in the same position—he offered himself for
re-election, and, if they thought they were qualified to
fill the office, they would be glad to be their humble
servants a• long at they were worthy to occupy the
position.
Ur. E. THOMAS : Would it not be better if the
present position of the company, and the prospects of
the railway, were laid before the meetdog before we
proceed to the election of the director.? (Hear, hear.)
The °MAILMAN replis I if DOM One In the room
would move the re-election of the director; and, it
being seconded, they might then answer the question
which their friend had just put. They did not expect
that meeting to put them beck in their position again,
unless everythiag, and aoything which they might
think rase inable, should be explained to them.
Mr. THOMAS : Is there any reason why it should not
be answered—anything conosaled ?
The CHAIRMAN : Nothing whatever.
Mr. THOMAS : Then I shall be very pleased to
propose your re-election.
Mr. Nurrnovaa esoonded.
Ti.. CSIAISMAN said as they were all aware they
bad had great difficulty In getting • new contract, and
to revive the work of the line.
Mr. Warrran : What ie the reason the old
Contractor did not carry on the contract!
The CHAIMAJI : Because we could not get the
money to keep it going.
Mr. Wairraii : Would it not, then, have been the
proper course to have re-advertised?
, The °Haute( replied under the circumstance, it
',would have been very imp Jlitic. (Hear, hear.)
They had adopted what they considered to be • better
mo4e of proceeding.
Mr. Watrran : But how do you know you hove the
beet market ?
The CHAIN/al: Although we did not advertise, it
was Made thoroughly well Icoown to those who took
no these =saws ; but, notwithstanding all our
efforts to make It known, I am sorry to say We have
not 'unneeded in galling • contractor till the present
time. You must remember when you advertise for
contracts you must advertise certain tarsus, and we
could not possibly &dismiss the terms that we were
able to enter into by private arrangement.
Mr. WHCTIAX : What ere the terms?
The CHAIRMAN : We Will C Hlle to that directly.
You will have two resolutions bearing upon this point

(L;in-iiht-e.)
The motion for the reelection of the directors WAS
then put to the meeting and carr:e 1 woollen ,only.
The C11410(1,3, in thonatog them, assurui them
they w ott 1 ,10 their beet ti wage the lino • 'no ion',
and Mr. W•tgag &leo assure I thmn he ha 1 3 no it
he paosibly could, an I w mid continue ti , in s i.
The Cnolnalaa nest in eyed "Tact the c, on ,any lune
£13,300 no w capital. or as much u they m ay r vire,
at • .7 rate of in..ere.t not exceeding 5 per cult.
Mr. CHARLIGI said if it was consoiere I necessary fir
the direct ire to do this, In co, ruing out the line, he
should ba Osseo,' ti secood it. lie 'model they
shined leave it to the directois to do the beet they
could under the circumstances.
The CHAIRMAN thought the company had made very
good terms.
Mr. BURLIIIog said. his name hoeing be n men.
timed as contractor, be wiehed to s iy a few word..
lie would remind them that the raven the sum was
larger thin their from Ith re ( %Ir. Woett ono) seem el
to think necesa try, was thet he did not sake any pay-
ehoouret l h
e a,:.. e 2
d.1,,,1ed.nm00 .r
t ire.s,
am: pay-
ment
ti
If Inctliesh." t wdh il n it fever,
payi'u i t
:Le w
£30,000 shores on his ban Is, cut they w ,ul,l be • lea I
llossine...Tthheey.scmoueldt.nrat eixtpheectto,ocipit,ryaomt,:nrt ti.,iacohi‘ld a
res
as though the cash wog lying et thee onpany's book.
If their friend there (hit. Woettam) knew in tnu,:h
about building railways, an I if he th ,n4ht it could
be done for so many th 'netted. if ha would give him
£2,003 in bank n ites he ehould be very pleale I to
assign hie contract over to hien. (L mod I ottdoter.)
The
hre.
c‘Vmeriraruurair::
(Looghter.) 2.l.`2t;°°°atiseaaavielryyetarnireadn.d candid offer.
Toe motion wee carried um. con.
Toe next motion was "Taal any shuts or shares
may be divide I into preferred or deferre I halve., in
which case the interest on the pref erred half be fixed at
5 per cent."
'ion rh
e3i'emu rreLeipi. lcaa iini tbheaf
to r,,entehheay f poofuead .
ht h. irse re 5,.1 u•
would
be ptree hferortele,r
half b
and b:ardefisurterod. i
ul
rontuit
receiving
eipveinr g cent,,
ad h
was left—say 3,5, 7, 10, or perhaps 20 pfr cent. It
would not affect any other shareh 'liar in the leant,
hut would only apply to the other half .4 the same
share.
Mr. T. B. GROWLS: Who is this arrangement in-
Waded to benefit ? Will the prefereotiol halves
rank with the preference shame hell by the con-
tractor?
thetria. tleo:rTtehteny will take n
:Thetay will
ere
l prraenfkwniate over oi.r
hn:thirngiobu;
she -es.
Ile CHAIRMAN : None of the present ehoreh 'Hers
CAD be preju tired by it in the slightest degree. For
my port I shell let mine remain as they are.
The ul.Wiqa Wa. sec ended by Mr. WALECII, 4111
curled unanimously.
Mr. Maxfield) : Perfiaps 501323 present would
like to know the terms of the working agree-
ment, so he woul 1 give them a brief outline. The
terms of the atreentent enters I into with the Great
Western Company are that the c 'moony shall
with, equip, manage, and maintain the Abbotabury
Rsilway in perpetuity for 50 per cent, of the gross
-----. receipt., after deduction of the Government Duty, and
ddr. WflwreoY : I have never seen it advertised, shall poy over to the Abbotebury 0 'moony hell.
and I have watched the advertisements pretty closely.
yearly, on the 30th June an I 31.4 of ')ecember in each
The 011&111111an ;mein seurted it hat been toots- year, the remalnlog 50 percent. of such groat receipt.,
mount to advertising, although up to the present time so that, be the earnings of the line, groat or small, the
they had failed to get • better contract, and he was company will be entitled to reJeive one hilt of ouch
&Enid if they had not siorispted this they would have ear. ___. e _,, ~
pro. an Omer. however, t .meet the c ...tin gency
failed to get • better. Butt c illaterally with this on. of the (Heiden I. falling 1,4 ,w th i rite of 5 floc cent.
tract they had made as arrangement with the G.W. It. per annum, the 0 -.. V. Wet r 1 Rollers), C ,mpony
Company, and he would Inform them if they had not ave further ogres,' that in the event id the Si) per
succeeded with that company they won't have failed cent. euniogs of the lino per cc not pr .ineing
even in carrying out the cootract now before them. sufficient to pay interest at 5 per cent., they (the
Mr. WHWRAM : lam prepared to assert there is not Great Western Railway Comp..., ), in crier tf in ika
£30,000 worth of work there. lam fully acquinted tip the deficiency, will piy or all icy to the Abbote.
with the work. bury Company, a. a ',bite, • aura not reveling
The CHAIRMAN : There may be differences of 5 per cant. out of the pr mora in bal,ogiim ti the
opiates. Great Western Company of the racei,ti Arkin,/ from
all through booked traffic c irried in troins of the
Mr. trialtrtsxn reminded them the late c entrant was
simply for earthworks and bridles, not for stations. Great We.tern Company to or from the Ablvitithory
permanent way, sign de, or 0 mpleam ~f the line 13 Railway to any station over the whole .4 the Great
Western system of railways, thereby virtually making
anlirw.ago.l7BOVlll: I take it this Melo !es the purchase
of the laud. a good sound provision againd any contingency which
might prevent • dividend of 5 per cent. Now.
Mr. MANFIZLD : Yes. although the Great Western will n a give us • rebate
Mr. NOWMOVIR : That mean. some thousands. when we pay five per cent., there is nothing in
Mr. 001,8 said they once beard in that room that the agreement to prevent 10, 15 or more per cent.
£54 000 was the outside flints the line would cod. being paid lithe traffic should be sufficiont. Drawing
How could it be, then, that £67,000 Wan required? o„,nparfe ins between the pr ...petite of their own ant
£20,000 had already been spent. allki yet £54,000 was other railways ill the locali'y. Mr. Maull-1,1
going to complete it. , remarked the Porilend Railway, woich di the nearest
The CHAIRM•N replied there °mill he DO doubt local line, c eit £lOO.OOO being £lBOOO per mLie,
about it If the money had been forthca•ning the oil while the Abbotabury Railway after all it. obotrooLioa
contract would very likely have been 0 'inputted ft and difficulties, will only co 4 £12,000 per mile.
that money. But they were in this position—the cash The next nearut line Is the Briniport, will
was stopped, and the contractors would not goon with • capital of E 165 .4M, or £15,000 per mile. Mr.
the work. Therefore, they bad to go tI, another Manfield could not em why the.' tniaht not Carly
mark- t. and, of course, they could not get it at the and reasonably anticipate as good a dividend ea
same conditions as they did before. They were in a the Porilaud line earned, the cost per mile
very difficult position—if they c ,uld hare gone to bring one-third less than the Portland Railway.
MOW,. Green and Burleigh with £54,000 they would With this arrangement they ought to make themselves
have ma le • very different contract. But they had p,rfectly happy—he did. He was the largest share.
not the money, so they ha Ito give them shares, mai holder—he hal more than double the number of any'
if they had said less, they would nut have carried it bAy eleto He had worked very It aril. end he hod
out at all. told them before that he would open I his hit •hil ing,
Mr. Wesrran : There is no doubt the line will but he woul I curry it out. (Rear, hear.) 13e had
belong to the contractors, and the money inyeeted will spared DO time nor money, and had left everything
be lost, else to attend to the bushman of the railway, for them
The Castanet remarked the contractor, would be and for himself. ( &W..)
very glad to tell them their shares. Mr. THOMAS said 61r. Monfield took a very rosy
Mr. WIINITAN : At par. •
view of thilo.ol greerallV, &lad be howl his antic. potions
The Citsinerax : I would rather se, the line carried would be realised. (Hear, hear.) To these gentlemen
—the directors and secretuy—who had so aukluonely
out and be the contractors', than see wi lire at aIL
Mr. COLIC: The contractors take these shares at a laboured in their behalf, and whose interest in the
fictitious sum? railway wan, no doubt, a great deo' larger than any
The Casianas : No, no. of theirs in the room, he begged to propose a hearty
Mr. Coil: 04,000 was going to buy the land and vote of thanks.
everything else. Ur. BARRON sell be had consented to take
Mr. Maisstelm llf there had limn 10 oPlce'litien• a seat on their Board, mainly through his connection
/ with /friar.. Green an I Borleigh, the contracture,
Mr. WHITIAM : The actual work done on the relive
Pee , of whom he spoke in the highest terms. They were at
would not cost 27,000. I don't know whet has
lament carrying out contracts In crueiectidn with two
In expenses. lam quite sure the work will not cost 1
more than £30,000, and I know there are people
ready to dolt for the money. I ant prepare Ito assert
oeargrpoertituronamfityowvoaefyr mEoernitiPe'irotiniii:: Ri
n e
this, t
whb
e tie"' mglad
muse t"
iPt4t i Imi sh
iagtvhe' t ntthhotee
that.
The CHAIRMAN: I think it Is out of place to come be IS WSU known there a. in L iedon,
here and say what might have been done for So much The motion was carried by acclamation.
ready money. (Rea, hear.) We employed an , Mr. Illsesnthir remarked they he I. since their la 4
engineer in the old contract—a man if experiences, i meeting, lost their audit .r, Mr. Davis, and be berg. I
who has certified for a certain amount of work 1 to prop we Mr. Leonard Robinson, of Dorchester, as
done, and I have no doubt it has been done. , hie sucoessor.
If you had pat us in the pes salon at the Toe CHAIM/Ur mace idol the proposition, which Was
money, WO 'think! bars been hapoy ti have gooe carried unaniniou.ly.
to Messrs. Green 11124 Borleigh, and no doubt they 1 Mr. NoIITHOODIt remarked be had been doing
would have had a different contract But it Is business witli • very I irge firm, who had given him to
not so. We go 14 fornta papyri:, and WO IWO understand they would be prepared to take twenty
glad t i wake such reasonable terms. It you would or thirty thoutend tons of iron ore over the railway.
only put us in the position of handling the money we (Hear, hear.)
get 12 or 30 people ready to make the llim, but The meeting then tertniaated.

directly.
Mr. WHErran : Bet it is so important thing to
know before we prooted to the election of directors.
The thintanan : As far as I am concerns'. I
don't care whether you know it now or after the
election.
Ur. EDWIN Banssar, the solicitor to the com-
pany, then read the contract entered int. with
Messrs. Green and Barleigh, which showed they
agreed to construct the line, with all *tali me, signals,
and all the necessary works, including the purchase
of the land required, for the sum of £67,300,
which money will be provided ea follows :—E21.,300 in
the company's debentures or debenture stock, at the
option of the c ,ntract ir, bearing interest at five per
gent. and £46,000 in fully paid up shares, of which
£lO,OOO shall be Issued with the preference dividend
of 5 per cent., and the balsam as ordinary shares,
contractors to pay interest at the rate of five
per cont, to all the shareholders from the list
of March last till the completion of the line.
Haring read the document of agreement, Mr. Barnett,
as solicitor to the animist), sad he could only think
that the company bad got the beet end of the stick,
and 64 hoped and trusted Messrs. Green and
Burleigh would carry out the line both to his and their
eatisfaotion.
Mr. WIIITTAY : It won tome a great deal more
money than it is worth.
Mr. Bowan: That is for the company to decide.
Mr. Witilirey thought it wee at least double the
value of the work intended to be done.
The CHLILIten said it was here theybad fund their
diMculty. Although it had not been advertised, it
was tantamount to advertising, in the way it hail been
Placed before the contractors both in and out of
London.