The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-08-09 00:00:00

liailb3ag intelligence.

LONDON AND SOL'TH-WESTER.N.
The directors of this company have jitet issued their
report. It states that the net revenue for the six months
ending June 30, after deducting interest on loans and all
other preferential charges, amounted to £143,677. To
this is addo..el £10,396 from the December account, mak-
ing the balance available for dividend £154,073. The
directors recommend a dividend at the rate 01 41 per
cent, per annum, payable on the 20th of August, which,
on L 7,197,855 of paid up-capital, will absorb £152,954,
and leave £1,119. The increase in the gross revenue for
the half-year was £43,342, as compared with the oorres-
pending period in 1858; and in the working expenses
£.13,216, leaving the increase in the net revenue £10,126,
The total receipts for the past half-yearamounted on 339
miles of railway to £437,196 against £31£3,834 on 2874
miles for the corresponding half of 1858. The increase
in the receipts for passengers amounted to £26,824, and
for geode to 1:19,977. The increase in the mileage was
514 miles, and the proportion borne by working expenses
to the gross receipts has been increased by this cause,
and by the low fares which the company has been con-
strained to take in the Portsmouth district. The con-
version of the old first and second class carriages into
second and third elites is being carried out, and the second
class carriages are being provided with leather cushions
and backs, all which improvement are charged to reve-
nue. The whole of the line is in good working condi-
tion. The Exeter Extension line is in progress, but the
heavy works at the lioniton tunnel and the Misterton
embankment have much delayed the contractor. Mr.
Errington, the engineer, states that there now remains
to be completed only 150 yards of the tunnel, out of
1,300. The Yeovil branch is now eufficiently advanced
to secure its completion with the main line. There are
heavy works remaining to be completed between Gil-
lingham and Yeovil. The Wimbledon and Epsom line
was opened for traffic on the 4th of April last. The ex-
tension to Leatherheael, which was opened on the let of
February, is expected to prove remunerative. The Bill
for sanctioning the aMftlgsmation of the new Ports-
mouth Railway with the system of this company has
' received the sanction of Parliament. The directors anti-
cipate that the arrangement will, in its integrity, be very
shortly submitted for the final sanction of the respective
1 proprietaries at meetings to be specially convened for
I that purpose. The differenoes which have existed be-
tween this company and the Brighton Company respect-
ing the traffic of Portsmouth, have been a cause of great
regret to the Board, they are now, however, able to
report that these are at an end, and that • general paci-
fication has been effected on terms believed to be mute-
ally advantageous to the companies and to the public.
Under this arrangement the running of through trains by
the direct Portsmouth route will be resumed on the Bth
of August, and the low-priced excursion trains by both
routes will be on the same day abandoned. An Act has
been passed for extending the South-Eastern Railway to
Iliangerforel insreet, and to a junction with this Rail-
way at the Waterloo Station, by which extension traffic
may pass through from this line to the London-bridge
Station and rice rera. Access also to the terminal station
of this new uudertaking in liungerfonbinarket may be
obtained from this oonipany, if the proprietors desire it,
and provisions for facilitating such a course, if deenied
expedient, have been inserted in the Act. It has, how-
ever, hitherto appeared to the Board that any such ac-
commodation as this company would require on the
north of the Thames could be only obtained by very large
and undue expenditure, and for this awl other reasons
they have not seen tit to recommend such a measure to
the proprietors. The Bill introduced by the company
into Parliament for various amendments and extennegss
tdbeesitable°47culyargeto emexeenutteof tthhee
or the c..inpany'a powers has become law. llesidealfu.
thorizing arrangemeuts with the Brighton Coompatiy
respectiug the through traffic betweeu Loudon and
Pertsmouth, and enabling
above mentioned works and branch in the Eing..ton
digtterilln%iletnauotrilN°ll4-rsst Satsvetryiuti at Southampton, and also
enables the proptietors to reduce, if they see fit, the
nunaber of directors.
The rzport of Mr. Beattie, the locomotive engineer,
statea that the train mileage had been 1,768,095 milee,
ageinet 1,480,008 miles, giving to increase of 262,087
wiles. The cost of maintaining and working tho loco-
motive stock was at the rate of Pm& per train mile.
The capital account showed that £10,378,979 had been
received and £10,378,110 expended, heavinga bakaeo of
/:889.

FRIDAY.
At the early sitting, the Sergeant-at-Anus having
reported that, in obedience to the order of the House,
he had Colonel Greville, the nieuiber for Longford, in
his cuetody, the 11011. member, after an explanation
offered on his behalf by Mr. .1. D. FITZGERALD, was, on
the motion of Sir F. BARING, diSCIIRIXDI from custody
on payment of his fees, and was afterwards sworn as a
member of the Kingston.upon-flull Election Com-
mittee.
On the report of the Committee of Supply, the vote
of £17,000 for cleansing the Serpentine water pve rise
to A short discussion.
Sir J. PAXTON alleged various objections to the pro-
posed plan of purification, in which lie WRA stimorted by
Sir .1. SIIELLET, Mr. WALTER, and Sir W. 'FARQUHAR,
Mr. FITZROY offering rather an apology for his prefer-
ence of the plan than a defence of it.
On the order for going into committee upon the
Reserve Volunteer Force of Seamen Bill,
Lord C. PAGET explained its object, which, he said,
was not to increase our fleet, but to enable us to be pre-
pared by sea as we were by land, by having a pro) Cr
militia to recruit from awl as a reserve for our navy.
Ile appealed to the evidence id high authorities in favour
of such A force, and to a recommendation in the Report
of the Royal Coninibisien a last year that a force of
30,000 men should be enrolled es "Royal Naval Volun-
teers," on certain conditions. Upon that yroposal this
Bill was framed, differing from it only in some matters
of &Mil. It was proposed that the num should he
invited to enrol themselves for five yews, receiving .C 5
an.min : that they .!iioil,l be called mit 2r4 days in
the year for tr..ioing upon pay : that at the cud of five
yeam they i !meld hare this "'aloe if retiring from the
(tete, or. of Leong f:: another period of five
years ; and tit.t the force should be Ihdde to hu called
mist in.ii active service io aoy I.mrt of the world for two
r cr.., with thy power of extruding their service for two
:jest.: longer iniere.o,:il pay. A f stating the pro.
visions as to Pe. ',tens. he rc0m.3....l that the measure
was an exp: rim lit Waiisla lie trusted miy!mtbemncceaful.
awl that the 1.1.4 PRAHA of insuriim its AUCCOMI wai, to
I.:emote is berer understanding with the seamen in the
merolialit nrvice, sod inaku theta desirous of entering
and loth to leave thu 1.414.1 navy.
Mr. LINDSAY El.klt,l Lis objections to the recommend-
ation of the IleYal CouniMsion (of which lie was a
member), and urged the severe discipline of the Royal
Navy as the mum of the repugnance of the inerchmit RALF-TEARLT MEETING. sealuen
toentering the Royal service, lie recom-
mended that the 11111 ihouM be delayed ; that the The half-yearly_ meeting of this company was held on
whole plan should be held over for further consider- Thursday at the Waterloo-station ;eapb. Mangles, .111. P.
ation, and that in the 111.1111 time it should be made in the chair.
known that the Articles of War would be altered ; that „Mr. er?'"bw, the secretary, reed the minutes of the
excessive drills and arbitrary fiuggiug should be abolished, miw meeting, which were warmed.

The report, in abstract of which appears above was
taken as read.
_ _ .

The Chairman, in moving the adoption of the report,
said that if the position of the company had not altered
very considerably within the 1.0. t few days he should
have felt it his duty to have addressed them at greater
length than he intended on the present umasion. With
regard to the capital and revenue he would make a few
oleo:rent:tom Toe revenue for the pant half-year ahoweel
an increase of £43,342 over the correspowling half of last
year. At the same time they had to work 51 extra miles
of railway, awl to run the trains an additional mileage
of VOA/UV miles over the distance run in the correspond-
ing half of la. year. They had also the disadvantage of
low fares and to contend with an opposition on the
Solent for the Southampton traffic, as well as being
udder the necessity of working 9iiiiles in connexion with
the Portsmouth Rdlway by 1.1111111111:1SCS. They had the
new lines frum Salisbury to Gillingham, from Godaliiiing
to Havant, mol from Wimbledon to Emma to work.
Those operations had increased their expenses. There had
been souse large items added to capital for tile Yeovil
and Exeter Extension, the N:dlisbuty end Yeovil, and
for additional Omit. They had expended on capital
account over Li,6bO on the main hoe for additional
sidings to accommodate the increase of goods traffic.
They had rebuilt with brick aud :done bridges which
were originally construekd of wood on the Goildford
line. They had also formed improved junctions at
Basingstoke fur the Great Western awl tialiabury and
Yeovil lines. They were improving the station at
Southampton, and had made additional sidings at
Waterloo station. They would ask their perinon to
purchase shares in the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway,
under the autherity of the Act of Parliament. The
arrangement fur the amalgamation of the Purtsmodth
Railway was going on, and there were diCerent interests
to be dealt with. Tee directors remembered the phalge
they bad given to the prom-iotors„ and homd they would
Irate the matt ris their hands. Ile then explained
the m-rangements eat. red into with respea totl the Mast
London Extension line, nut certain junction lines at
Lrentford, himpitem, and other places, and concholed by
stating that the recent Act enabled them to reduce the
number of directors, whiJi he would leave its the hands
of the shareholders. The boanl wat now 12 in number,
and they found that sinfiicieuL lie would be glad to
answer any imeathms.
Mr. Herapath wishi-al to know wha the directors
intended to give inure than 1:14(Afil a year for the
Portsmouth Übe.

Tho Ciruum said they did not intend to give more
than £lB,lOO a year. There aces KWIC cutacc,:shdis
involving a triging expenae which they were dispioed
to grant with a view to show a conciliatory spirit,
and to bring tbutit the final settleuient of the stualga-
'nation.

Mr. Ilerapath understood that Mr. Locke was
endeavouring to get the terms revised 4:20,b00 a year.
The Chairman ',aid they were exerting themselves not
to do that, and they thought they would succeed.
Mr. Iferepath was glad to see the contest with the
Brighton Company ended. Ile believed it had been no
good to any one, not even to the public. The companies
would probably be enabled to recover their losses by
finding out the fares most conducive to the develop-
ment of the traffic. Their revenue account showed an
increase of £43,000, but instead of increasing their
dividend from 41 to 51 per eta, the expenses compelled
them to give only 41 per cent. The accounts showed a
balance of £10,305 from the last account, but on looking
to that account he found a balance of only £395. lie
was quite at a loss to know where the £lO,OOO came
from.

The Chairman stated that the money had been set
aside from time to time to meet certain claims, which
had not been made on them. The directors had been
unanimous on the subject of placing the kIO,OOO to the
credit of revenue, as it belonged to the shareholders,
and u • sufficient sum had been reserved for anything
that might be called for. He thought they could not
do a more just thing than to divide the money at the
present time.
Mr. Michell was glad that an arrangement had been
come to with respect to the late competition, and he
hoped that settlement would be permanent and satis-
factory. He believed that in cases where evil legisla-
tion slew its thousands maladministration of railway
companies slew its tens of thousands. (Laughter). En-
gineering and legal talent were ever on the alert to dis-
cover openings In districts between two lines, and to
make competing schemes of them. He trusted that
both companies would leave such schemes in the hands
of the promoters, and confine themselves to developing
the resources of their existilg lines.
Mr. Puncher feared the further they extended the
poorer would be,the dividend. Ile believed that if the
whole of the expenditure had been charged to the past
half-year, and the £lO,OOO for sundries had not been
brought in, the dividend would have been at the rate of
3isper cent.. . . . .

-Ir. Giesler wished to know how such a sum as
£lO,OOO could have acc 1111 l Wet.' without the knowledge
of the slisreholders. The actual earnings would only
admit of 3i per cent.
Mr. Porter thought the attention of the shareholders
should be directed to the enorinou assessments wade by
the parishes on the company from time to time, and to
the overworked position of the officers. He thought
the receipts iber mile should be shown in the accounts.
Mr. Edwards mule sowe suggestions with a view to
reduce the expenditure.
In reply to 1)r. Snow. it was stated that the line to
Exeter and Yeovil would be ready for opening through.
out curly next year.

Mr. S.;rjeant liezclee wax opposed to suspense accounts
and to the increase of capital, and he would like to see
everything paid for as they went on. When he pro-
posed anything for the benefit of the shareholders they
would ot support him. The directors represented a
very large amount of property in the undertaking, end
they were unanimous in ne:ounnending the distribution
of the nomuo.
. . _ _

Iterulutions were pawed adopting the report, declar-
ing a dividend at the rate of 44 per cent, per annum on
the ordinary stuck for the past half-year; approving the
course adopted by the directors respecting the West
London Extension line; authorising new works at
Brentford, Kingeton, and other places; sanctioning the
purchases of shares in the Salisbury and Yeovil Railway,
awl reaming the number of directors from 13 to 12.
A vote of thanks to the chairman nod directors con-
cluded the proceedings.
The meeting of the Soutli-Wealan Steam Preket
Company win then held; Mr. Tite, in thi chair ;
and the mond divido.d at the rate of 5 pia cent. per
annum was declared fur the past half-year.

TRAFFIC RECEIPT/A-Thu traffic returns of railways
in the United Kingdom for the week ending July :10
amounted to 4:533,820, and for the corresponding week
of I:•Cet to VilLtl:111, showing an ircremie of £19,150. The
gross receipts if the eight radway: having their termini
in the na timmlis amounted to £1,848 and for the cor-
responding period of last year to V=7,472, showing an
increase of £4,276. The increase on the Brent
Northern Railway amounted to £174; on tilt- Great
Western to 1.^2:11 ; on the London and North-Western
to £2,7t3; on the London, Brighton, and South Coast
to £744; on the London and South-Western to £226;
and on the South-Eastern to £700; total, t 4,860. But
from this must be deducted £572, the decrease on the
Eastern Counties, and 1:12 on the London and Black-
wall; leaving the increase as above, £4,276. The re-
ceipts on the other lines in the United Kingdom
amounted to £0t,962. and for the corresponding week
of last year to £257,158, showing an increase of £14,8114,
which, added to the increase on the metropolitan lines,
makes the total increase L'19,180 as compared With the
corresponding week of 1838.