The Express.
London, England, 1852-08-20 00:00:00

ST. ANDREWS AND QUEBEC RAILWAY.

The ordinary general half-yearly meeting of the
Class A shareholders in this company was held at the offices,
Parliament-street, yesterday, Mr. FIATHIMIONI in the
chair. The report stated that
" The directors have much utisfaction in acquainting
the shareholders that contracts fur completing the remain-
ing portion of tho first is. ction of the line to Woodstock
have been concluded with a firm of English contractors,
who have already forwarded their plant to St. An, reef's,
and are now busily employed in prosecuting the works,
whlth they anticipate being able to advance with sufficient
rapidity to enable them to complete the whole of the first
section to Woodstock within two years from the present
period. The contractors have also signified their readiness
to undertake the further sections of the line, and which, as
soon so the requisite usistance has been obtained hum the
colonial legislature and home government, the company will
be in a position to entertain; but, as the interests of the
Class A shareholders are more directly engaged in the com-
pletion of the first section, the attention of the directors has
generally been more exclusively directed to the furtherance
of this paramount object. They hare lately, however, been
obliged to pursue a more active course, and deviate from
the quiet and unobtrusive policy which has hitherto
guided their movements, having felt themselves com-
pelled to assert the rights which successive legit'.
lative enactments had conferred upon them, and
which, in some of the propositions recently subtnitted
to the government for the completion of railways between
Halifax and Quebec., had not been sufficiently regarded.'
l'hey have in consequence submitted several propositions to I
the home government, which they trust, on the meeting of
parliament, may be brought to a successful termination.
The earlier parts of the correspondence containing them
have already been laid by the government before both
houses of parliamett. There appears not the slightest pro
bability;of any rival scheme being sanctioned in New ...rails-
wick ; the fit Andrew's and Quebec Railroad will thas.

fore be the great trunk line of communication between the
mother country and the Canadan and be the cornmenM-
merit of a line of railway, which, after traversing the whole
extent of the latter, can be continued on British territory
to the Pacific, and ill then constitute by far the shortest
route which has hitherto been devised to that ocean and
the Indies. That this idea may not appear chimerical, it
may be as well to state, that a proposal to.carry it cut has
recently been laid before the public by an ottiecr of the
Royal Engineers. It will no doubt be
_gratifying to the
shareholders to learn that persons in the United Ststes are
willing to continue the St. Andrew's and Quebec Railway
from Woodstock scram tho State of Maine b, Quebec.
This would open the extensive s lumbering regions' of that
State, and be the means of throwing a very considerable)
traffic on the line, while it would equally carty out the
original intention of a direct communication with Quebec
and the Canada, and at the same time cause a consider-
able reduction in the total distance to be constructed;
but the earnest wish of the directors his always been
that the St. Andrew's and Quebec Railroad should
continue an exclusively British line ; thy cannot
therefore, entertain proposals of the above nature while
there exists a probability of government assistance being
afforded to aid them in the construction of a line the
length of which has to be so greatly increased in order to
confine it to British territory ; but whatever muy be the
result, whether the line shall be wholly British or not, the
clam A shareholders are only interested in the amount of
traffic which nosy be thrown on the first section ta Wood-
stock, and in the surplus profits to which, in addition t 1 the
guaranteed I per cent., they will be entitled to. These
have a prospect of being increased by the forinatim of the
European and North American line, which, witti much
energy and foresight, has, at the insti nee of the lion. Mr.
Chandler, the late delegate from New Brunswick, been
actively taken up, a preliminary contract with en English
contractor having already been entered into. It having be-
come necessary to render the first ten miles at once available
for the conveyance of the plant and material. required in
the construction of the rest of the line, a damage at Katie's
Cove has had to be repaire I, and which, together with the
laying the wood superstructure, rails, &c , the directors
have been informed would be completed, and the line ren-
dered fit fur working, about the present time. The intelli-
gence brought by the last packet has confirmed this. A.
block of 20,000 acres of land has been pawed by the
government, and will shortly be distributed to the Land
Stock shareholders wbo are first entitled to it, the date of
subscription for the shares giving the order observed in the
distribution. It is proposed that application shall he made
to the legislature by she company in New Brunswick, (or
guarantees and other advantages, to the lame extent as
those which have been accorded to the European and
Nsrth American line, to enable the works to be continued
with rapidity to Quebec. The find sod of the Lew c ~tract
has been turned by the lady of the ailministrator of the
ga'iernment. An ac has palmed the provinei lee; ..!•.teire
diiiing the last session, defining the class of shares t.t be
held by the province, in lieu of the debenture. they me
entitled to issue. Since the last meeting, no further pro-
gress has been made with the Albion settlement, it having
been considered advisable to wait until the railroad had
made a greater progress up the country, in order to
facilitate the operations of the settlers ; applica-
tions will then be made to government to permit the neces-
.sary appropriation of the company's lands in such a manner
as not to interfere with the receipt of the 10,000 acre wrantn
they from time to time obtain on their expending 8,000/."
'The report then alludes to the recent discovery of gold
in Nova Scotia, from which they anticipate a large amount
of emigration to that province. It then gives extract; from
statements of the Bishop of Frederickton and of Professor
Johnson as to the fine character of the climate, after which
it proceeds to state that " the whole of the class A shares
have been subscribed for, and that application for several
hundred more have been made, which the directors have
been compelled to decline. A call will be made on the pro-
prietors, who will also be allowed the option of paying in
advance, receiving G percent. for such sums as they may
pay in, in like manner as for their calls."
Statement of Receipts and Expenditure from 31st Deem
18.51, to 30th June, 18.52.

. -
PATIMMTIL
Ilapoaft on S 7 Sb,re.., and ananunta paid an drat c. 1,,
and on calls in ..dvsnor 9 9
Balance in band
...... s,t 44 10

211,1d4 19 11
velum.
Balance in tuna rn 00CM/8 £2,146 I 1 3
Deprnita on B 7 Marta, and sums paid an last tall and
tall, In advanoe •
Sundries

£11,436 19 11
On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, the report was adopted.
Mr. THOMPSON, the manager of the company, who has
recently arrived from New Bruaswick, stated that a grant
of 20,000 acres of land had already been mado by the com-
pany to the govermumt. It would, in fact, he 23,000 acres,
to prevent the necessity of another a 7, and that addi-
tional quantity would afterwards be taken into account.
The engine was now, in fact, working on the first ten
miles of the road, and he had no doubt the contractor would
be enabled to complete the remaining siateen miles up to
Frederickton road by Christmu next.
Tho meeting then separated.