The Express.
London, England, 1855-08-25 00:00:00

GREAT

RAILWAY.-(THIS DAY.)

Th• wad half-yearly general meeting cl the'
peorietore of the Gnat Neetlesta Railway was hehl this

. -
moral's', at Not Loadou Tama, la Sistiolograto-otroot, Kr.
EDMVXD Dairiaott, 3[.P., ttliainsaa of tits Board of Dim-

tom Is the Asir.

The CZAIJULUI diked the emus= seal to the register of
shareholders, statlag that sloes last year the number woo
leas by 300, showing that the stock was getting into fewer
hands. The total number of shareholders on the register I
was 5,843.

The Direeban' report, which has already appeared in the
columns of the Express, was taken as read. sh.
The CIAII3ILAM. :toeing the adoption of the report, I
said, the demand ram so fall sad sosaprebeseive, that it
left little or nothing for his to say. The peat 'nest speak

for itself, bet as to future prospects, he thought this son- RR
paay stood is se good a position u any other railway pro- ;6
petty. He would not indulge in prophecies, but as trade n
improved, tad prises fell, he wu sirs the traits of the :,.•
Great Northers Railway would rapidly Menne. to
Negotiation were Ring as with other companies Si:
for train, and reining arrangements. He hoped si
what they were finally settled the amusements Lk'
would be highly ntineetory to the proprietors, who of to
mane would he called together in due coarse to dim or etc
re the agreements as they night think at. Ueortnaately
the dividend was smaller this had bees geserally expected.
sic
He wafers% it was smaller than he had antisipated
self; bet this felling el wee owls' to eireunstasets over Cc
which the &tenon had so eastzel-mish es the &pros- IL

ohm et trade sad the humus is the cost of =While.' it
Lea half year, however, he was eoariaowl there &-
IL
wadi be as improved &Mead; bat, at the maw

tine be must gaud himself value raisin too manatee
lops by staUog his belief that the kith pries If coke sad 19

Ohio eitistes 4 tally see mast still Wisp the next dividead
Wow know years.
Kr. J. 0. Pans; the deputy cheinnan. saioaded the
notion for the adeptioa of the report.
131.
Sr. Putouts complalaed the m et.
mooed of the dividends in
this ouspany was rurally karma to a favoured few Wog es
before it was =soused be the shareholders, and thereby is
they were nuke' to elect swommtal operations in the stock lit
of the company. t
Mr. Rooms' took exemption to that part of the report to
which reainaseaded the meeting to give the directors ri
power to raise edditiosal eaplw. He attnbuted the re u
dosed dividend ant to the eireaustancee stated by the It
chairman, bat to the feet that the interest os the nom last to
year had absorbed 214,0001. Now, before they prosseded iseu
to OM the directors this additional power, the shareholders
ought to know what the Niamey was wanted for, while they to
ought to be told the full extent of their liabilities.
at.
Capt. HALL found fault with the ezesssive expenditure 1$
whisk had taken place in weeks is the last half year. It :0,
amounted to no lees Om &SAW. It

Mr. Gramma objected to the high charges for working
espouse. The perolatage was considerably higher than en se.
other liner--►ash u the Great Western, the Booth• Wasters, U
Se
the London sad North. Western, sad the Brighten. a•
The Cetainuan, is replying to these varies, observe. et.
tioas, declared that be was es nub sa advocate for ass say
is referenos to the dividend se say one. bat the directors SO

had given strict instniatioes that the sans head which ear
ned the face to the Stock Nuking* should any it to the
newepepern With regard to what had fallen from Mr,
Hugkes,he mut remind the meeting that the capital amount
was not yet slued, nor wield he say when it wee likely
to besieged, end that eireuraftesekof course exercised en
iodates, ea the dividend. The power asked for to raise 51
messy was required fir the purpou of enabling the dirt/ton
to pay of the debentures coming doe at Christmas, should as
it be thought expedient to do so. The shareholders should
bear this in miad, that debenenricholden could u
deemed to have their mosey returned to them If
wine the &beaters expired; sad it not unite-
Welly hoppened that they did oe, unless 5
Shop were paid higher intend ea the renewal. Now, the
puree asked fee by the direetere was, to put them to a es i
aituatios to meet meek a dimmed, showed it be made, is et.
referees* to the debentures falling dee at Christmas ant.
Re had boss asked to give some st►tewst of she meets and 15
lishilibes of the sompsay; well, he held in he band such N
as estimate, whisk was weds up hat night, and was ij

brought down to the 30iii of Jamie. This esiiaate showed E.
that after prov Wing for everything, no matter whether
works in the amuse of ezeiraUon or matreoted fee, and
paying Wall demands, there would still stand a basses to lit
the credit of the mespany of so leis than 678,0464 Pining it,
to the seat tepie he admitted that the working exposes' li.
were higher shim es the mentioned, bat that was ea- 1•4
phased by the fact that this mammy was working over 100 to
miles of raliwiy, made and boluses' to other 'impolite&
Two-thirds of what they .used in tkoie hundred miles as.
were paid over to their onus, sod hones it was unfair to this rs.
emapany to misrelate the working ezpeases by a per vintage •
of reesipts, whish was the rale followed is the companies
with which the coomperisoa had been made. et'"
Mr. BILLINGS urged the directors to make some ad- 141
&hood annagements with the North British Railway. ..
That line wee um badly imaged, and act:tithed, were se le
(mama upon 'it, that people looming south as he had j.lst
dose, proposed to go fossil by the Caledonian line, to the et.
detriment of the Great Northern. He also advised the i.,Bt•
director, to make calls in anal ipation upon the preferential
stock, and so obviate the necessity for raising the 333,0001.
epos Bonds. The goods rates on the Great Northern were
far too low. et

.
The Camantar agreed with the latter observation, the
rates were too low, but so long as the Loudon and North- s
Weston and the Midland kept their rates down, there was It
no alternative for the Great Northern bat to keep theirs it.
down also. The time, however, had arrived when this ruin-
Gus competition ought to NOM ;if the sompaiders would only 1)
combine this. would be soma chasm of a profitable return, E,
but while oompelition lasted, such as carrying massagers
from London to Glasgow for Ws., the dividend taut remain SO
vastly disproportionate to the outlay. et.
A 811AMINOLDIZ drew attention to the case of Mr. Hall, ti
the Record., of Doncaster, who had obtained 5,0001. do.

maps aad seats fee a serious injury he had sustained at the im MBA
Leeds Mika. in Jaausry last. He thought the amount 10
se
I was speadlaily attrangsat
The CILLIZNAIf said it Wu, bit under the existing law
railwapeould have so hope co: kasha. The fast was the le-

gtaitw readably envoi rall;rays tae bestir amasser, and Io
the offers they could meet these, the better they liked it. 5
Although he was a member of the Hoses of Corms, he I:
had yet as hesitation in saying that the legidatare bad in
Always treated railway. shamefully ; railways had reared
lefties berate upon the public, more, perhaps, this ay
other specie, of onnutsreial enterprise ; bat, neverthelme, the to
legislature, both the upper sad the lower brach, made • r:
pesetke et dealing with than r if they were lair as
geese for robbery. Unless, therefore, railway ermasies uro
oembined together for their own protectios, there wee too
rarely any other prospect but rain before them ; certainly fro
they would set with that share of remuneration that ;
they were entitled to expect, and he hoped railway share- 5
holders generally would see the seremity of immediately
foreleg their directors into a sombinatios AO la Writ as sad 4
to 'repetition, sad to be premed to resist the ,t 1
farther searehments of the legislation He knew for a feet too
indeed be bad been told so by esme, that art of the mem 100:
ben of Leber Hour of Pa:limpet did sot an a straw for mei

the interest of the railway shareholders as shareholders. I'3!
and heath it biome a daty ea the part of railway ethapeathe is"
to otabine against the public for their own safety and So
protesting. (Cheers.)
After mete farther dientesios, the report wee adopted, to
and the dividend desiand at the rate of 21 per that. per ?:
seams, being 11. 2s. ed. per twat, for the half-year open 40
the Mead stock. sad It. lin pee that. apes the B Stock, s
payable ea and after the lie prozise.
A rthelation was then pewees& froth the chair, and 10
adapted after a brief dieenseith, eatherieing the directors to two
ezersies the anal borrowing powers, under the provision to
of.. Ass pissed lath fiessieryte enable the Company to raise
as additional atfilloa eighth 4
A vote of thanks was then peered to the Chain= and to
airman. sad the Bimodal/ separated.

DIVIDEms (Pawn Fusoa.)—This tannin hare "
has Bttasl wake of the tioneepoadesee whisk weed be-
-B#M *8 Greaser sad Deputy Governor of the Beak of
it 1864, ea& Ile. Gledeseae, the lea Clwairellee of
se , to the providiag meekfee the gamest
alibi ea the piddle stocks.
lona STOCK Conrainsa.—This morning a report
hoe has lewd by the Begisteer of John Stook Celapasies,
draft that the featbsa el seek enapealer provieleselly
tcylelowi derieg the year 1854 wee 289. sad the number
erwayiehtly registered 132. Frftreas of the Emote sad
thirtpda of tie latter were ammo easpeales. The total
amber of few received at Ik. head Wes la Lydia --
6,2611. 18e. 2d.