The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-02-27 00:00:00

REVENUE ACcorNT,

The gross receipts for the half-year on revenue account
amount to £74.667 19s. 3d., which, added to the sum of
£909 Is. 7d. (being the balance of the amount brought over
from last account, inclusive of the amount of £3,204 Us. 2d.
to the credit of renewal fund, after the payment of compen-
sat:on to the parties injured in the accident at Mollington, and
sundry other items, as authorised by the proprietors) makes a
total to credit of revenue of £15,577 N. 10d. Deducting the
working expenses, amounting to £34,103 3s. 3d.; rates and
taxes and passenger duly. £2,218 7d. ; interest on loans and
Mortgages, £11,599 Is. 4d_, there remains a nett balance of
£27,656 13s. Bd., out of which your directors, recommend the
payment of dividend at the rate of 24 per cent. per annum,
leaving a surplus to be carried forward of £3,310 4s.
The traffic receipts show a decrease of £137 15s. 4d: as.com-
•pared with the corresponding period of 1858. Your directors
have, however, to remind you that in the corresponding half-
year the passenger receipts were increase•! by extra traffic
occasioned by the Royal Agricultural Show at Chester, pro-
ducing upwards of V,700. The goods receipts, also, were
credited with . the sum of £.1,500, received from the Great '
Western for station accommodation, fur -which there- is no
equivalent in the present account.
The closing of the Great Float at Birkenhead in September
last, to enable the Mersey Docks and llarbour Board to
proceed with the Great. Works, which, under the provisions
of the Mersey Docks Act, 185,i, should be opened on the 31st
March next, rendered it necessary for the goods traffic of the
company to be conducted at the temporary station provided by
the Dock! and Harbour. Board upon the Egerton Dock Quay.

The coatraction of the water area, and ckinserent obstruc-
tion thui ocCasioned, - have most seriously impeded and
curtailed the merchandise and mineral traffic.

-The limited spact;, inconvenient access, and absence of proper
facilities for the management of the traffic, such as are provided
upon the ompitnv's own station, have together led to a greatly
increased'expenditure in wages, blat hire, and the employment
of additional horses and engines for shunting.
Your directors, acting under legal advice, have given notice
to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, that the repayment
Of these additional expenses and of consequential damages Will
be claimed of that bOa rd.

The wgirkine expenses generally, with the exception of the
items referred to in the last paragraph, compare favourably
with thole of the corresponding period of 1858.

TOLLS UPON THE' GRrAT WESTERN COM PANT'A GOODS TRAFFIC,

The award of Jose, 1856, fixing the tolls payable by the
Great Western Company having expired on the 18th of April
last, a new reference became necessary, and an award was
made, under such reference, determining the payments due
to this company for the period ending 31st December, 1859.
I IThe directors considered this award most objectionable in
many respects, but, having rexard to the short period of time
over which it ran, and to the terms of the agreement for the
lease of this company's undertaking to the London and North-
western 'and Great Western Companies as from the Ist of
January last, they did not feel justifie in doing more than to
give the necessary notices for a new arbitration as from the
last-named date; and ix doing sa the directors have conveyed
to the Great Western Company the intimation that the action
of the Birkenhead guard has been taken for the purpose of
reserving the rights of the company, and not from any hostile

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS AND THE AGREEMENT FOR
LEASE OF THE LINE.

Numerous bills affecting the interests of this company have
been applied for in the present session of Parliament, and will
require attention during thbir future progress. The directors
cannot refrain from calling special attention to a bill promoted
by the London and North \Vest'rn Company, with a provision
for the repeal of the powers granted to this company in the
last session to use the Maneliester, South Junction, and Altrin-
cham ,Railway. A petition has been presented agains such
repeal; and the directors will ask the proprietors to aid them
in protecting the valuable and important privileges now pos-
sessed by this company, and generally to watch and take action
upon the bills before Parliament, as the interests of the com-
pany may require.
. .

. - -
- Ili accordance with the provisions of the agreement • settled
between the respective boards, of this Cowiany, and the
London and North Western, and the Great Western Railway
Companies, approved by the proprietors at special meetings of
each of the companies, and signed by the respective solicitors,
your directors have longed a bill to carry out the lease or this
undertaking to the London and North Western and the
Great Western Railway Companies. - •
This bill will be submitted to you at the special meeting, to
be held immediately after the ordinary general meeting, at
Birkenhead, on the 25th instant, and authority asked to prose-
cute it in the present session.

The Great Western Company have also lodged a Leasing
Bill, but as this measure contains provisions in excess of the
agreement, settled in August last, your directors have taken
the necessary steps to enable them to appear before the com-
mittec, to which such bill may be referred by Parliament.

The directors regret to say That they hare 'not succeeded in
inducing the two companies to seal the agreements for the
lease of the Birkenhead undertaking. They have done all in
their power to aid in an amicable setileme t si the differences
between. the North-Western and Great Western Companies;
sail they still retain the hope that friendly intervention may
shortly lead to an agreement upon the disputed points in a
manner alike conducive to all the interests concerned.
atooroN AND HELABY, AND TRANNPRE TIRANCNE.

The directors could not 'procce t in the construction of the
necessary works upon these new lines until the two companies
had had the opportunity of proceeding in Parliament for
amended powers. The companies have made no such applica-
tion, and in the existing state of things as respects the agree-
ments, the directors consider that it is important not to delay
for say longer period the construction of the works ir question.
It is proposed to proceed at once with the Hooton and Helshy
line as far us 'Sutton ; and to lay out the works at Tranmere
Pool in such a way as to form the nitc/eas of a Mineral Dock
scheme at that point. Agreements have been entered into
for the land lying between Grange-lane station and the l'ool,
and the directors confidently believe that this short branch
will become a valuable adjunct to the existing lines of railway,
and a permanent source of profit to the undertaking.
ILFTIREME ST OF DIRECTORS.

Messrs. Bancroft and Evans !riving resigned their seats at
the board, your directors recommend that the vacancies thus
created be not filled up.

E. G. SALISBURY, Chairman.
Birkenhead, 20th February, 1860.

Engineer's Office, Birkenhead, Feb. 3, MO,
To THE CHAIRMAN AND DIREC MRS OF TILE BIRKENIIEAD

RAILWAY COMPANY.
GENTLLMUN.—I have to report that the whole of the works
of the railway are in a satisfactory state, with some trifling
exceptions, from the effect of the frequent and long periods of
wet weather, severe frosts, and subsequent rapid thaws, but
not of such an extent as to cause any great expense in repairs,
and will easily be put right during the stuntner.
From the accompanying. retur,. of miles run and amount
expended in working and upho dine the rolling stock for the
past half-year, it will be seen there has been an increase in the
number of train mites run of 10,690, while there has been a
decrease in the expenditure of £726, on the corresponding
period of last half-year.
The locomotive engines and tenders arc in efficient working
condition. In the carriage and waggon department con-
siderable repair.; have been effected, with the view to strengthen
and lengthen their durability ; the condition of this stock has
been generally much improved during the half-year.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
referred to the statement in the report with regard to
the revenue account and the expenditure on capital
account.. He deprecated the style in which railway
accounts Were usually rendered, and thought an intelli-
gible abstract would be more useful. He round that
the expenditure on the half year had been £33,900 on
the working of the line, and of this £16,500 had been
paid for salaries and wages—a large sum in the groan, it
was true, but spread over many departments. As usual,
the Chester station had been a heavy expense to the
company, who had paid, :is their share of the working
exrnses of that station during the half year, no less than
£1,700. The London and North- Western were now
beginning to complain of their share of the expense, and
in conjunction with that company, the directors of the
Birkenhead Company were doing all they could to save
unnecessary expenditure at the Chester station. During
the halt' year £1,600 had been paid for materials for the.
repair of the line; £2,200 for coal and coke for the
locomotives; £1,400 for hydraulic, steam, and horse
power; £l,OOO for directors' travelling and other
expenses; £l,OOO for telegraphic communications,
law, stamps, insurance, and clearing house expenses ;
£l,OOO for advertising, printing, and stationery ; £7OO
for oil and cotton; £6OO for gas and water ; and £2OO
for clothing. He thought a saving might be effected in
some of the items if the line passed into other handS,
but he would be doing them a wrong if he did not tell
them frankly that, in his opinion, they could not of
themselves make any great saving in any of the items
to which lie had called attention. Possibly they might
reduce the amount of £11,600 which had been paid for
interest on borrowed money. That item contrasted
favourably with a similar one in the previous half-year's
accounts, but Mr. Hobson, who had that depart-
ment more especially in his keeping, would no
doubt pay particular attention to it for the future.
During the last three half-years the capital account had
been augmented by £37,600, but it should be understood
that 'of this sum £20,300 had lte)en employed in
discharging old liabilities that should have been
met years ago. There had been spent upon
the Hooton and llelsby and Tranmere branches the
sum of £9,750 ; there had been paid for a piece of land
near the station formerly belonging to the Borough
Bank, and formerly offered to the company for £9,000,
the sum of only £1,850; and the whole amount of ex-
penditure for the last eighteen months, during the time
he had been chairman, upon the railway itself, apart
from the items he had. called attention to, and added to
the capital by the present board of directors, was only
:alOO. As regarded revenue, he had also the satisfac-
tion of stating that all old claims on revenue . account,
with the exception of £l6l now in dispute between
three companies and themselves, and which had been
referred to arbitration, were all discharged. He had
requested Mr. Belee to draw his attention to any matters
in the accounts that required notice ; and that gentle-
man having favoured him with a letter, he would briefly
explain one or -two matters. At• the last half-yearly
Meeting there was a sum of £3,201 to the credit of the
renewal fund, which did not appear this half year. A
resolution was passed some. time ago that £5,000 a year
should be credited to that fund ; but when the agree-
ment was made with the London and North Western
and the Great Western Companies to lease the
kenhead line, it was understood Birkenhead
Company the irkenhead
Company should not lay by £2,500 to the renewal
fund for the past half-year, and the conceivingrs
nd was fl
that all the money to the credit ofthatauU d not of th it,
e
property of the Birkenhead Company'f the balance of
leasing company, had transferred it to
revenue, but had
not divided it, and it formed part
L3,:.,10 carried to the next account,
would
do that if the line
be availabl f
were not taken over the money
wiloeluoe had very
air
renewal purposes in 1860.
Nti • t on the 30th properly
of J one,
called his attention to the fact
1859, there was a suns to time cred,.it. unclaimed
dividend in the suspense account \Ole t did. not now
appear. The directors i
held that that ought not to pass
to the leasing companies, but should be held in trust for
n'
claim it, and they had the parties entitled to ey accordingly
invested it in Birkenhead Railway Stock for the benefit
of the shareholders.
Mr. BELOE said there was an item of £875 16s. Id.
which had been improperly credited in the previous
accounts, at the last moment; at 'least that was the
opinion of the auditors.
The CntonmAN said that was a sum received from
the Dock Doard, on mount of the purchase of a steam