The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-18 00:00:00

wacky creation' (on up ,n) that *a moan. i labia to
increase in riveting seentat is reopen of
Debts dee to naary pantos £31.378 14 5
'stunt doe 11,955 3 9

Not introdarsd into tits books at that data ..C46,333 17 2
The whole' of the above debts appear to have bees paid
slaps the 314 Deossaber, and a gnat part of the item fur
Lateran is suds up by calealatioas et interest, acerood oo
micas sans kw part of a half-year, swots two, three, or four
meaths. whisk ars payable half-yam/Iy, sad so doubt have
bees worn be duly paid.
" It appease to have bees the cwetwa of the sompany to
pay eat elks sample for each year the interest and m-
ama brosemlai die sad preseated cluing the year, but not
to oaks a ty entemate of the debts isearred during the year
for whish siansants have not bees sent ia. la practice,
aerators, 01 suns that each year bears its fair amount of

. . -
expenditure.
" Qualified by the ingoing observations your committee
adopt the repeat Math thetheitents.
"-This rethitheeatalae aroma belasersheet ea Ike filet
December, Ink ithievidthg not thusly the haleness of revenue
and espied thesemth se rehihbel is the haltleerly reports,
1 bat thee the edam Woos standing in the company's b Ake,
by which the Miser WOO lieble to be effected. It likewise
gives the eureset themeat of share and borrowed capital,
with explanations et there weal inthestraties in the
aele4 statement of them in the beehe. It %lit n gives a
general statement of the .of the c tespany with
nference to the ezenseeks el Ow works for which acts
have bees obtained, eheerlas es Pe ace side the espial
required on the 3lst of D:eestbeele dieekerge all the then
liabtlities of the oompeny, inehthig weeke in progress,
shares is other companies liable to oath, sad lines 'who-
timed by acts of parliament, but not yet begun ; and on the
other side the extent of parliamentary authority for raising
capital remaining aluminised, and the anoint yet to to
called up on Awes already created and allotted, and calls in
a rear.
The rigairt then separates from the gross capital of the
company the amount expended iron the l-t July 1844, to
the 31st December, 1348 ; and it is to this expenditure that
the remainder of the report refers.
" At the end of their report the accountants bring out,
ander the heal' General Results, two statements, showing
the corrections capital and revenue accounts the respectively
liable to, according to their views.
, " Your committee have, however, given the views they
themselves take of the various items here referred to. If
their views be sane:tithed by the proprietors, all the items
, pieced on the credit side of the statement of corrections in
capital account as suggest. d by the accountants should be
struck out, except the item of 25,1491. Is. 4d. for stores,
with which this acclunt had been erroneously debited. And
I all the items on the debit side of correetioes of revenue ac
count, except 34,6371., deferred lishi,ity, to male go.d the
deficiency in engines, carriage, sod waggon stock, as per
I Mr. Kirtley's estimate; and 25,1591 Is. 41., tot stores pre.
1 viously charged as above, as a set-off, to which credit must
1 be given, for 26,044., the value of stores in hand.
1 " GeIeZILL MANALOUIeNT.
_ .

" As to the erlyii;;hici; the attain of the company have
bent reisneged, it is evident that for three or fur years very
much of the attention of the most active of the dir, eters has
been engrossed by puliamentary proeudisgs and the con.
unction of new lints; and that for these reasons they have
had less time to attend to tho general working of the con-
cern. Yet, although various branches of detail cannot but
have suffered in consequence, the committee. are not aware
of any particular instance of gross mismanagement.
" As to whether or not it was wise to undertake the eon-
s:ruction of so great en extent of new lines, is a question
not resting only upon the directors to striver, as none of
this could have been dine without the concurrence of the
proprietary.
Moreover, the necessity for making these branches, or of
allowing other companies t' do so, seems to have been forced
upon this company, by the injudicious course, to soy the
least, adopted by parliament on the subject.
" The loss likely to be sustained on an) of tho cuaranteed
lines, except the Leeds and Bradford, your committee think
will not be great. As to the Leeds and Bradford, the report
goes fully into the subject elsewhere; and it is, therefore,
unnecessary to say more upon it here. The reasons and
motives @rutting the board in making these bargains, will
doubtless be eluely cantered ; but after having read the
entire report, amid after making a lair allowance fee
errors of judgment, and viewing railway affairs as they
stood at the time, however much the proprietors may regret
that some of them were ever made, the committee doubt not
that they will justly apportion the amount of responsibility
fairly chargeable upon the directors.
" As to the future, it will be for the proprietors to say
whether any or what change shell be made in the direc-
tion. Your committ' e, however, are decidedly of opininu
that there should be at once an appointment of some new
directors, either in additian to, or in substitution of, an
equal number of the present board ; and in order to arias
the proprietors in coming to a conclusion, the committee
here give the various suggestions they have received on the
subject. Ono of these tecommends the appointment of a
stipendary chairman, who should give his whole time ; the
rest of the board to be paid 1001, a-year each, as at pre tent.
Another, that there should be a chairman end two or three
other directors paid for giving their whole time ; the rest of
the board to be pail as at present. Another mutation is,
that the board should be increased to the as ssimurn ~umber
allowed by the act of parliament—vie., twenty—with the
same gross allowance as at present, to be divided am-eg '
themsel its, according to the services rendered. Another,
that :he number should be 15, out of whom there should be
formed three or four sub-anthaittees, fa the special purr ose
of superintending matters of &awe, way sad works, rolling
stock and stores, and traffic ; end than committees should
be allowed amone them 1,5001. for these special duties, and
that the whole 15 should have the usual allowance of 1001.
each, for attending to the ordinary basilicas of the board.
The cost of this latter plan would Wash, 3,0001. per annum ;
4001. a year more than the allowance at present, now that
the construction committee has ceased.
" As to which of the above plans would be the best, your
committee would hardly undertake to decide, but they will
make a few observations with the view of assisting the pro.
prier,» In coming to a conclusion on the sub,ce, if it should
be thought right to make any Literati in in the present
system.

" PIEXAMENT WAY.
"The condition of the permanent way on the Midland
lines has been inquired into by the committee, who have also
personally inspected the different lines. From the informa-
tion they have received, and from what they have Wen, they
can say that this branch of your property is generally in good
condition.
" It warm to be agreed among engineers that the proper
mods of providing for the support of the permanent way is
to make all necessary repairs from time to time from the
current revenue, and to put aside an annual sum, also from
revenue, to accumulate at interest, for the purpose of • gene-
ral renewal whenever it shall be required.
" From the investigations made by different engineers it
appears that they are able to speak with some degree of so-
Messy es to the duration of rails and sleepers under various
deoleastaamis of wear and tear.
*Mr. Bedew, from an average made of the age of the
mascot way of the Mullen t lines, calculates that in addi-
tion to the east of keeping it ordinarily in a rate of repair
proper for the varLng kinds of traffic, there ought to be,
when the lines are finished, a sem of about 30,0001. annually
laid amide for a general renewal when necessary.
"Us prepritton are aware that it was determined by •
rindmeeting • year ago to lay wide 20.0001. for this
;nom If Mr. Barlow's opinion, thereon*, be acted upon,
4
per annum will have to be added.
/tit Robert IPephenson, M.P., has been consulted by
iffigessmatittre on this subject, u well as on that of Isemmotive
Meek and be after having gems over the Midland lines
1111111111/11 lid arroborates Mr. Barlow's reportkallem
May eowftwas Ida in the propriety of setting side
pie as Mtn fee renewal of the permanent way.
is Your committee are not prepared to say whether or mil
It Is positively requitte te lay aside so large an annual ram,
awl they lea rtr that smug railway dimmers there is some
ffillerrnee of opixion as to this point. They are, however, of
opinion that en amount not exceeding 30,0001. will be
ample, and that at all events it will be wise to increase the
stem already determined to be annually laid mid. for the
peepose.
"Lonowouva Bronx.
s's The Mate of this meek, steneralky, is a essWes• agree
imams, and it has amordinaly had iamb seadisailisa
bowed upon it by theanualaten.
is It appears to be the bees that the proper wag
ef meiatibleg this Ismael of he by repairs
when reqaired, so long as mild can be kept up
by suck repairs; whoa that is no hare practicable, then
the seem, carriage, waggon, or whatever it be, should b
replaced by • sew one. and that both repairs and enamel
should be paid for out of revenue.
" The moose of positive depreciation which the georreat-
ante say this at* had suffered on Dee. 31, 1848 has been
already staked by your committee. The question here is
moo peters!, and involves both the method the company
profess to have follow. d in keeping up this stock; and
secondly, whether or not such methi.d is a goad one; and,
thirdly, whether or not the method has been, in feet, pur-
sued.
"On inquiry your committee were informed that the
method actually pursued by the company was as above de-
scribed—viz , to repair as long as repairing will suffice, and
to renew when repairing is no longer practicable. Your
committee consider this to be decidedly the best way of deal-
ing with the subject.
They thereupon caused the superintendent to report to
them upon the actual state of this stock 55 to the eakiency,
and called in Mr. Robert Stephenson, M.P., to examine the
stack at Derby, as well as Mr. Eirtley's statements sad re-
port, and to give the committee his opinion thereon."
The following is an extract from Mr. Btepheneon's report,
which is given in Memo by the committee:
" After inspecting a large proportion of the stock, which
is in excellent working martian, and considering many
engines have bean so extensively repaired as to make them
fully equal to new engines, I am of opinion that you
will be perfectly safe in putting the repairs of sal-
tiest maintenance of the locomotive stock at present,
at 66,0001. per annum, which, divided into the pre-
mut vela mileage of the Midland Railway, would
give nearly 31d. per mile ; and it is upon this rate per mile
that I would make the half yearly calculations ,• that is. if the
current repairs during any half-year should fall short of this
rate, that the difference be set aside, either to purchase new
engines or rwonstruct old ones. In examining and Multi
giving the condition of the rolling stock of carriages and the
amount of repairs to them, I have endeavoured to arrive at a
similar basis of calculation. For instance, what is usually
called repairs to coshes and carriages of every descriptim
is amply covered by 28,0001. per annum, and this divided
into the train mileage, would give rather above lid. per
silo, which lot the purpose dbeing ea the safe side, I
would call lid. per mile. If, therefore, during any hall-year
the wrest repairs of the carriage department fall short of
this, the difference should be carried to the depreciation