The Express.
London, England, 1855-10-25 00:00:00

Ent expreofl.

111180yossibabai4 .Tb• Uprise, Evemiagysper,
seaboatlie laimarboaszent, by Tye Alba os the
b of palibblim

HIGH WATIR AT LONDON BRIM'.
Tsai Day—Voisin& Ds Ma ...--Aftionoos. 114 Hos
sawoosmoo—Diosts& JI. Da.—.Aftanoos. 11. S .

LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25.

Ws an scarcely seam's any task more thanking
t►an that of attempdag to await= the situation of
shersholds“ to the =rotative necessity of Railway
Bekaa, and yet we are firmly oonvinoed that,
said its aemmity shall be clearly sea and
seseptie measures taken to carry it oat, this
vast istiereet will anginas its rapid coarse toward,
embanasement and discredit. Considering the =or-
was amount of property involved, the question
mama most important dimensions. The latest pulls-
amatory nurse Maas that the total amount of capital
sad loans anthoriesa to be miss& by railway comp
penis. to the sad of last year is ao lees than
3811,3114,3081. Theists' seiwally raised ia286,001,794i.,
viz., 106,030,8061. on ordinary shares, 49,377,6821. on
pretenses shares, and 70,660,0364 oa loans. At the
end of NH the railway companies this Maned
power, and a perilous one it is, to raise a farther sue
of 82,516,614 L by alarm sad loans.

With Spree of this magnitude before as, we
einem help feeling that the legitimate infiessos of
the press men scarcely be employed in a more teapot-
teat Sold. sad the prospect of the immaase good
whisk would be effected by the introduction of a
wholesale sad mead system of reform stimulates as
to persevere. The apathy of the railway propristery
body is so profound that • resistant repetition el
the dark facts diselosed in the resent Imbrue sheets
of several companies, becomes absolutely asimmery.
In truth, the stated strain in the railway world is ,
tee grave and critical to allow as to be mealy-
mouthed and nisi in phrmeology. We raisin-1
dowdy believe that the entire railway interest is in
a most anemia aid declining Inancial
doe, and that, owing to the wide-spread
reign of Wink and jobbery. there are not
half-rdosen eimpaaies in the kingdom bet
would derives, sigma' advantage from the appoint-
meet of a Shareholders' Committee of Investigation.
As an illostratioa of the Missals that are sure to
Sow from a strict scrutiny of this kind, we may re/or
to the owe of the London and North Waters Oder
pity. At the last half-yearly mestleg, the share-
holders in this line showed evideat diesatiellisties
with the remits attending the eddies system of
amisgenesst, and as evident a wish to bidets mer
sures et refuse. Instead, bower. of resagaisiag
that every member of the board, %deem the
Chairman himself, is the salaried servant of the ems-
pasy equally with the humblest porter or switehman
on the line—Lasted of giving bold exposit= to jest
somplelat, and issimiag summarily apes an altera-
tion, here we have tale powerful company, afirepro-
meted la its posed meeting, apparently l of
uttering a weed of ressesstreace or mime. Whines
this faint-heartedass oa the part of railway pro-
prietors? Do not they appoint and pay their
directors fora special service; and, by every rule of
PO" are sot the directors subject to summary die.
shoal if their seeds of sosdnotiag affairs he lax. die-
hosed, or in say other way reprehensible r Posi-
tively, it makes one feel embalmed, to witless the lack
' ci indepeadesee of spirit shown at the majority of
Ahem railway meetings. The shareholders, es a body,
llipar to regard their boards with a species of sub-
' links awe, and the faintest threat from the
&testers that say preemies' on the part of the
mooting will load to a realisation of the executive,
is, apparently, laciest at all times to redoes the
repotaat shareholders to gleam. We duelers
we. should derive great comfort and hope if we
meld only ass s body of proprietors take their
digesters rosodiy to task ; swept a resignation when
%edited; and rase, without familia& the horrors
of this mosseed aaareby. The lows" we are per.
ended, would bear good huh in every railway bomd.
seem is the esestry. At this London sad North
Welters meeting it so happened that the board was
sellsiestly prudent to offer no mikes affinities to
their esestitsmte very modestly expelled wish to
leers bow their affairs were going as, and to emir
bin whether Imo merit estmomioal ideas might sot
be gleamed from the reessrehes of a shareholders' SOW
mines. But this seaside., it was eirefelly im-
posed apes the minds of meeting, was sot to be
a cam runts. of isesedgetice, but to bear the meth
mere somplaisant title of " a Committee of Commits-
doe: Asd what do the shereholders suppose his
smelted hem the tenderipeondested inquiries of this
meamittee, negative is the male though its powers
Toe If we may believe what we hear, the
immediate result is the dissevers that great savings
are set only peeticable it this company, but that,
*sieves, moderate axonal of premium slimily ad-
ministered. the board have *tad mesas to rodeos the
mileage rue of the compsey's engines to the extent
of seise 17,000 miles to 16 weeks, the trails receipts
of the oompsay skewing during the game period is
iserease of 38,0001. Why, we ask, was sot this
seems of soosomy sought before t If fewer traits
mace tot oily to tarry the pet but Increased traffic,
• the greater blame is due to that emotive Which has
saly bosoms thrifty whoa shereholdees are aroused by
$ falling income. Dees sat this dissever, epsak
what° as to the prodigal waste of shareholders
'abases which is this as is ether shapes is eon-
, lleatly going es. and is it sot celselated to encourage
gentleciateremed is railway property throughout the
kindest es inaugurate a general system of Wept-
dist aad seareldag mestiny
We have be/ore sea "Comparative &attain of
Railway Amounts for the years ISM and 1866."
is-
destriaesy tied lankily compiled by Mr. L. Redpath.
Bare those; the Apses are, and saassompaniell by
oxplasetory otiolosot. they are to ear tided I. many
cases sikeegly suggestive of the existing danger sod
promotive Amadei decay of oar railway system.
The accounts of the Great Wasters Railway Com-
, pap we have as hesitation is saying, inspire as
twith positive alarm. Hero is a company with the
1100 apical of 21,979,7861.--nearly thesney-moo
mitre sterling. The 4, ordinary share capital
missets to 8.236,2764 the " prefers: se share capi-
tal* to 3,796.3424 and the " mortgage debt" to
9,947,1681. In other words, the mortgage debt of
this ;Jemmy, having priority is point of dividend
over the " ordinary 1' share capital, and subject to
dificulty in periodioalresewils, aerially meads this
latter capital by so Imo than 1,710,8931. Including Abe preferesse shim, the grand total of debt per
watiag s preferential claim spa pelts m-
odals the ordinary share capital by five Wiliam and
.'abttYseeriag Compared with the
Ala' Months el 1864, the libertine debt Meows MI
el 1.477,1311.; ft that this evil is
•Molley increasedMinimises. The total missipti,
'the half-year were 11114.37111.-4; plasely zovolioso
; sod Imo the working esposme—whisi see
dews la the pees at 2111,302-4/400 .In Ili,
• P:blis►ed by ind•dmasi

II