The Express.
London, England, 1855-08-18 00:00:00

GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.

The following is the report of the direetOre to the
general meeting of the proprietors, to be hell on the 26th
August :
The accounts for the first half year ending June 30,
1866, with explanatory statements, are h appended.
the charge upon capitol account has increased in the course
of the lest half year by 201,6811. 171. 6d., making the whole
@spite' expended amount to 10,906,7171.6 e. 3d. The re-
venue statement shows that the grew earnings of the last
half year amounted to 608,7661. 4s. 11d.; for the half year
ending Jane, 1664, they wire 469,9431. Os. 101. ; the in-
crease being 38.8131. 4s. Id. The gross expediters has
been 277,8031.75. 7d. ; for the half year ending Jane, 186 i,
it was 243,3371. 7s. lid.; increase, 34.4661. 19e. Bd. The
net aseernot shows that the balance of the revenue
account is 230,9621. 17s. 4d. ; on the 30th June, 1864,
it was 226,6061. 12s. lid.; increase, 4,3471. 4s. 64.
But, in addition to the mortgage
.debt of 205,7641.,
together with a higher average rate of interest upon
toe whole debt, having increased tie charge for internal
Melee* by 7,7771 Is., the sum available fur general die's.
deed, which, for the half year ended June, 1854, was
133,9431. 2i. ltd., is now only 132,7611. 18s. 84. For the
hail-year ended June. 1864, dividend to the amount of
64,6281. 16s. was declared on the several classes of preference
stocks; but now, in addition, the sum of 9,3861. Os. 10d. is
required to meet the dividend accrued to the 30th June,
1856, vex.:-upon a further registration, in the interval, of
the 41 per cent. preference stock, 6481 4e. 11d., and upon
the 6 per cent. preference stock, issued in December, lOU,
8,8361. 15s. lid., whereby the dividend upon all the prefer-
ence stocks to be deducted from the above-minuted
132,7611. 18s. 84. is increased from 68,6281. 161. to 78,0134.
16s. 10d., leaving for dividend upon the open stock, 64,7481.
Is. 101. Thus the net sum available for dividend upon the
open stock, which for the half-year to 30th June, 1854, was
67,3141.6 a. Ild , is on the present occasion, 30th June,lBss,
54,7481. ls. 10d. ; being less than in 1854 by 12,5661.
6e. Id., which is equal to about per cent. for
the hall-year upon the 4,808,4371. 10s. of open stock.
The net balance or 61,7481. It 101. enables the directors to
recommend a dividend of 21 per cent. per annum, being
11.25. 64. per cent. for the hall-yea upon the original
stock, and 21. ss. percent. upon the B stock; leaving
6531. 33. 4,1. to be carried to the next account. The pro-
posed dividend will probably cause some disappointment,
but a combination of circumstances common to all the rail-
ways in the kingdom has alone produced this result; for
the receipts from the general traffic on the Great Northern
Railsay have continued to increase in a very satisfactory
manner. And as far as the directors can judge, the pro-
perty is in a perfectly sound and healthy position. The
chief item of the increased working expenses has occurred
in the department of the locomotive engineer, as explained
in his report, appended hereto-vie.: 114,940 additional
train miles, 4,8081. 6s. 54. ; increase in price of coke,
7,0031. 17e. 5d.; increased cost of repairs of roll-1
leg stock, 3,3961. Os. 41.; total, 15,2081. 41. 24.1
The remainder of the increase in the working capture,
19,2671. 15s. 64., is made up of items in the several payments
shown by Account No. 2. Au extra expense in the half
year is • sum of about 5,0001. for damages and costs
awarded to Mr. Hall, the Recorder of Doncaster, who was
seriously injured at Leeds station in January last. In thisi
carn, as in all others, the directors endeavoured to come to'
an amicable settlement of the amount of compensation ; but
as the sum demanded was so very large, they considered it
their duty to the proprietors to abide the verdict of ajury.
This 6,000/. causes • diminution of the dividend of nearly
per cert. for the half year. Parliament has passed an act
by which the Great Northern Railway Company is empow-
ered to raise one million of capital, with the usual borrowing
powers, as authorised by the g 1 meeting in August,
1854 ; and in order to enable the directors to avail them-
selves of any favourable state of the money market, for
raising money on better terms than by the issue of the un-
allotted 14,000 of the last 6 per cent. preference shares, or
making further calls on thou issued, a resolution will be
proposed to the meeting to authorise the exercise
of the borrowing powers given by the said act.
It was stated in a circular issued in March last, that the
chairman had considered it his duty to withdraw from par-
liament the bill proposing to endow and build a church at
Doncaster for the benefit of the company's workpeople and
their children. Each member of parliament who spoke
against the bill acknowledged that the object was most desir-
able and praiseworthy, but they objected to the principle of
taxing unwilling proprietors. A proposal was therefore
made that such proprietors as thought proper might sub-
scribe to a fund for the above object, and the directors have
now to announce that promises of subscription up to this
tame have been received amounting to about 6,0001. ; but,
as was stated upon a former occasion, 6,0001. being required!
to enure en endowment of 2001. per annum, and 6,0001.
more for building a church, it is quite clear that, without
greater li!terality on the part of the proprietors, this most
valuable object must, for the present, be suspended.
Toe schools, however, as will be seen by the report
of the Rev. J. Campion, proceed in • satisfactory man-
Der. This will afford some relief to the minds of those who
feel it their duty to promote a religious and moral education
for the children of mechanics and labourers in their service.