The Express.
London, England, 1848-02-28 00:00:00

talk before the middle of March, although an engine had already
cone over it without stoppage.. lie expected that the other hoes re-
erred to in the report womb also tend when opened to add to
the revenue of the company. It was propobed by the Great
Northern Railway that one el their Rae should came into
the mutton of this company at Peterboreugh,_ and the direc-
tors were disposed to ave them every faddy for so do-
ing. When all them lines armed be in full operation, he had great
hopes that while the rename would increased, the expenses would
be considerably reduced. The receipts of the bne Its le, averaged
1,1 01. • mile, bet in 1047 they inereeeed to 1,764/. Mile. In fact
the disesteem bad done all their power for the benefit of the
company, and if it one
thought that any other body of men could do
more they were prepared to resign the maagement into their hands.
With regard to the court* idopted by the director" in re/en-nor to the
forfeiture of nbaren, be could only Fay that they hail acted upon
.itamtart; coneth,ael.eruatimeon, tnean,lhalett.ougithht.lir
eynahbadle47thotemreawlistjetaailarge toe
llabttittea at the company. The chairman continued to obscene (in
reply to a eharehubler who demanded to know why they bad not been
called together and consulted en the steiject), that it was not thought
prudent at the time to agitate the public mind by en doing, nor woe
to lava the condition of the company. By acting with that motion
the company had been placed to a creditable pattoit, i.nd were quite
prepared to pay their &viands. Unlike other e• menial who had a
borrowed capital of seven or eight mllliots, the whole amount of the
Mann of thin connany did not exceed soq,ouot., atd men that they
could pay off if all th • calls due were paid up. lee hoped
there would he no difference of mann as to the 'Mint:awry
character of the rt port, and that It would be unanimously
agreed to.—Dr. Itylnnd obeersedfthat, considering the depreaed state
of the country, it was nut our prising that the dividend sae reduced ;
but he fe t It right, neverthelta, to prom upon the directors the ne.
m may of paying attention to the strictesteconomy.--Mr. 1•hella tali
objection to the poise ding of tie directors In reference to the fur-
kiture ot shores, contended that they had no right to charge the
fund* of the company with 5 per cent. in perpetuity. and caper sed a
hope that such a anew would met be sale adopted without the feral
coneent of the proprietary.—Mr. Waddington fettled to a aareholder
(who charged the directors with encouregiug heavy law expense.,
amounting in the present report to t ), by observing that, to the
exerttons of the direr-tuts, the company were indebted for being at
preeent in • portion second to no other company in the kingdom. The
d ureters had actually advanced large swim of money out of their own
pocket', to prevent diograte to the company, when they hod
no a:count at their bankers'. Ile could further nay that
every account for paritenteutary expenses had been exa-
mined and reduced by the honourable chairman hureelf.-
-Mr. Serjeant Goatee having taunted the chairman upon the failure
of his premiers respecting an increase to the dividend, the chairman
replied by Weaning that the Wine was nitributable to the untore.
wen diftlulties of the month of October. With regard to the for-
feited thane, he thought that some consideration tor the directors
ought to to shown by that meeting, when he informed it that their
cheques had actually hero mused at the bankers for so small a awn
as Me 01 They acre thus complelely driven into a corner and com-
pelled to set, et the same time dust In doing eo they were anxious to
show ea much consideration as potable for those holder• of thanes
who wire unable to pay up. The chairman having further Mated, in
reply ton question, that the Mei& ad was entirely p iyable out of the
prodta, the r. port wee agreed to as were also resolutions autnitrising
the directors to dlepree of the forteited shares, WO re-electing the
retiring directors. A motion for the appuietment of aueitors was
negatived, the &mom having promised to consider the question,
and int, ode eit at the next meeting.—A vote of Lamb to the chair-
man concluded the weaseling,
CALEDONIAN —Half-yearly heeling.—Edinburgh, Feb.
25.—Mr. J.. 1. Mope Johnstone, of Atinandale, in the chair.—The
Chairman, after confute ulatlng the dm el:oWe'; on the opening of the
line throughout, tad that although much had been done, there call
remained a good deal to be secempliebed. They had not yet goo
accommodetion for tiff it goods traffic; they wanted Mahon acooin-
ousiation in a variety of plea.; and they were still &talent in
regard tot te amount re plant fiir working the line. They tiropmed
to erect teteperat y neconinvidatice ill lie waantimq so as ta eirth:e
them to proceed with the development of the goods Defer ; and as the
development of the truffle of a railway am matter of a gradual
pramse, they intended to arrange as to cabala, ace, in such a way as
to :nettle them to meet the deamele as they were made
upon them. With regard to the works now in preens", and which
were not part of the main line, there were mimeo( them meet essential
to the prosperity of the company. The Clydesdale Jrmcuon, es they
were well aware, opened not only a communieatien with the southern
banks of the Ciyie, but it also opened an immediate and direct chain
of comniunication betweeu the east of Scotland and the whole of the
towns lying within the district, of Greened, Renfrew, and Ayr, while
it would sited great facility to the transit of tratinerigers to Edin-
burgh, as well as fur the conveyance of pawnor, and gook from the
busy manufacturing dintricts in different part. of England. It was
important in another point of view. The lime elong which they
paved immedi:dely tipproachom Glasgow were exceedingly crowded
with traffic. The areuent of coal. lime, and iron stone eanvey d
along them is antenna ; and it would be a great relief to the traffic if
a temiderable portion of the coal traffic —all, for instance, that was
intended for ishippiug —were oonveved on the Clydediale branch.
There was another week in which they were meowed which
was very important. namely, the extension of the Gartikirk
Railway to the town of (Ammon. At prevent it terminated outside
of the town altogether, at • considerate ins Walton, arid very imam-
violent for passenger-. By whet was proposed, however, they would
be onaveyed into the midst of the city of Glasgow, where they would
bane abundance of station sceornmodiriot It would also be neces-
sary to carry on fame works se, •he opposite bank of the river, so as
to obtain a pateurrer station at ',ne little distance from the River
Clyde. At present they did noi intaud incur the expellee of e !wry-
kg their line down to the bank 4. ' • li/Tr. It would be mere pru-
dent to have a temporary station at the point of junction between
this tine and the Barreiro," line. Ito old not, perhaps, be so COM-
modious as they meld watt. but still sedeent toanswer their purpose
in the meantime. It would alma be necessary to complete the junction
mtli the Greenock Railw.y. It 'minx' ogre's and by the time the
CI) cloddy June ti an Railway wee opurted.,t, mould he finished. The enu-
meration of these WOrkli, and the necesniti which exuded for carrying
them on, brought him to a point of raising additional funds. For
this purpose they proposed to ask the nhareholdere to sanction the
borrowing powers vested in the company by the sets of 1040. These
powers enabled them to arrow a num of Y 100.000. Some of these
works abet were those to which the new chants were applicable ; and
justice to the otber tharebeldent it MY but fair that the new
bares should be brought in to hear part of the expenees. Then pro-
posed to ask to: a call of V. on these steam, to be payable one-half on
the 31st of March, and the other hall on the let of July. They were
just now =Wog every effort to develop the goods traffic. As yet,
they had net attempted to carry anything hut pamengere, but by the
let of March they expected to curry goods. While nothing that om
curred at first could be taken as any mtisfacthry criterion of the
line, yet no far as they had gene thry had great reason to be
encouraged with the staves that attended them. theyce were
nen than they especial in the circumstances, and were daily
bereesing; to that he had no doubt by the next time they assembled
be would be able to give an encoursging amount of the traffic.
The report of the directors was then read. It stated that the Colle-
t/ay brach (ten mike in length) the only portion of the original
trunk line which remains to be finished. This important connexion
with the north of tkotlend will be ready for opening by the lot of
May; but the works are in a euttleient state of program to admit of
Ike being ofretsi nimultaneeusly with the Scottish Central Railway, if
the opening of the whole of that line should be accornplined at an
' earlier period. The Clydesdale Junction portion of the Caledredan
Railway, which was acquired by the company under the Caledonian
and Clydesdale Amalgamation Act of 1816, bad been retarded from the
wetness of the 1“11.011. The directors were also proceeding with the
extension of the Gernkirk entrance into Glasgow, and with the forma-
don of the necerary ColllleliOllP with the Greenock and Ayrshire
Railways, and with the Gernkirk and Castlecary lines. They
were strongly impressed with the importance of probe-
eseng the works now in program to • conclusion, with
the name vigour with which the main line has been executed.
In alluding to the receipts andespenditure during the past half-year
the directors regretted that a considerable degree of baskwaidnere
had been shown in responding to the calls, whereby a came of the
expenditure over the rem tete had been ocantionett, for which the di-
teeters hail been obliged to provide. In order to meet the decreasing
demands, in coneequenee of the expenditure already incurred and in
program, the director" proposed to make a further call on the half of
111. shares. The amount already called up on this stock was 31. la.
The dilater. propane Dow to announce a further cull of 5/. to be paid
in equal inetalments, on the Slot Marsh and lot July next; and they
had bonnie given notice of their intention to apply to the share-
holders kr authority to exercise the powers of borrowing money
conferred by the acts armed in len% The engineer's report mated
that there was no work of any importance remaking to be mauled,
exoete. about 10,000 cubic yards of rock to be removed at the Asattock
-mama
Garnet. Accot-N-r re BIPr Decaaists, 1847.
1111C2Z,7a.