The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-08 00:00:00

EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY.

The report of the directors, which 11 to be pre-
sented at the half-yearly general meeting on February 16,
says:—

" The met profit of the half.year enables the directors to
recommend a dividend at the rate of 3 per cent. per an-
num on the ordinary stock of the company, and to tarry to
the reserved fund the sum of 8701 Bs. 4i1., after paling all
fined charges' and debiting the earnings with the interest
on capital, both productive and unproductive. The
following statement shows the general result of the half-
year's working of the railway, as contrasted with the cor-
responding period of 1851:

_
Gran Restipft WorkingEspeages. Natftwit.
1862..131,014 11 6 67,243 16 61 73,770 18 Of
1861..118,246 15 101 62,878 18 63 65,368 17 of
lumen

-1-a-1-862.. 12,788 16 71 4,388 17 0 8,401 18 74

" The ertensiaa of the Bacup Branch, is length about
miles, has been opened for passenger traffic since the lat
or October, and for goods traffic since the Ist instant. This
is the may addition to the company's mileage during the
half-year. The in ream of net profit, shown above, may
therefore be fairly taken as the memoir of the gradual im-
I prevailing in the reeourees of the railway. The edema.
tars of the Barth satensiee, the directors believe, will
bismuth apparent in the course of the current half-year.
" Although the directors have every confidence in the
stability of the undertaking, and the future increase of the
receipts of the railway, they consider it their duty to re-
mind the proprietors that the last six mouths of the year
are, sad will °entices to be, the most productive to the
company' and, therefore, the Christmas dividend mast
sot be taken as a certain indication of the amount which
the eempaey may be able to pay at Midsummer.
" The directors have satisfaction in stating, that in con
=Me lassieess of the company eines you were last *r-
etry have been able to work amicably with neigh-
ies. Bzperienee having shown the advan-
tr.% allure accrued, to all the companies concerned,
from tin& ernagements of a limited kind, your board
coseladed a more comprehensive •greemeet in December
last with the London end North Western Railway Com-
pany, and with the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
Company for the teem of seven years, by which the receipt,
upon all traffic at competing points are now divided in fined
proportions.
As this arrangement secures the transinimiou of the
merchandise traffic by the shortest mate, sod enables the
Ltheethire sad Yorkshire and Bast Lancashire Companies
to week the traffic at the Liverpool, Manchester, Blackburn,
and Bentley stations with one staff, it has the advantage of
securing to the public the shortest and beat communication
for the trade of the district, at the same time that it assists
the railway companies in conducting their business in a
more economical manner.

;Theonii&aiAUFlCtO the satisfaction uperienoed by
the directors with respect to your position with other um-
ponies, is the stale of the question as regards the tollave
payable for the moot the Clifton and Salford line, and the
neutintre to this company's claim to the parliamentary toll
oat the Liverpool., Crosby. and Southport Company's Vale
suing the joint has into Liverpool.
The easy state of the mosey market has enabled the
directors further to reduce the avenge ram of interest upon
your mortgage debt, sa will be seen from the following
statement :

Dee. 31st, 1861.—Averagerateofinterest..£4 9 2 percent.
June 30th, 1862. 19 • • 4 7 7 „
Dec. Slat, 1852. . 46 2
"The expenditure on capital aceount.for the half-year
moots to the sum of 31,7901. 13a. Id., a ecosiderable part
of which has been expended upon the construction of the
Baeop Branch.
" In aecordanco with the suggestion made at the meeting
held is January, 1860, the directors have each half-year
since that time published a statement, showing the 'resent
remaining to be expended to complete the railway, accord-
ing to "admits' then submitted to the proprietors; and,
& asap subseqseut investigation and inquiry have satisfied
the board of the substanti accuracy of diem estimates,
they find that the continued publication of 'statement pro-
fessing to show the future expenditure upon each section
of the lice, under distiact heads, has ceased to be of any
practicable value, and therefore they have discontinued it.
"The works on the Dock Branch have not yet been com-
menced, as it has been the desire of the directors of this
company and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company,
joint proprietors of the line, to secure in connexion with
that branch the best communication with the rapidly-ex-
tending dock accommodation of the port of Liverpool. The
directors are endsavonsing to make the necessary arrange-
ments with the dock authorities fur seenfiag this object, and
they expect that these works will shortly be proceeded
with.
"The directors have taken taken the necessary prelimi-
nary steps for istrodneing into parliament in the nest
session bills for the following objects:
" Ist. The extension of the railway from Clifton to Sal-
ford.
"2nd. The making of a branch from Oraskirk to South-
port, and ea extension of the Skelmersdale Branch to
B.aiaford.
" 3rd. Power to convert the mortgage debt of the company
into perpetual annuities.
" The directors have not come to the conclusion of recom-
mending
the shareholders to prosecute these bills, without
most anxious and deliberate consideration.
" A survey of the country between Clifton and Salford
was, in the first instance, undertaken by the board, in con.
'Nemo* of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Company having
disputed your right to use that portion of their railway for
all your traffic into Manchester upon the terms of the agree-
meet entered into with that company. This survey, and a
consideration of the probable cost of the proposed line, have
satisfied the board that it is essential to the interests of the
company that this extension should be proceeded with.
" A communication with the rising town of Southport—
the most important watering place on the West Coast of
Lancashire—hex long been desired by your board. The
country between Ormakirk and Southport is singularly
favourable to the construction of a cheap line of railway, of
easy gradients, and the traffic between Southport and the
various populous towns on the East Lancashire Railway is
very large, and constantly increasing.
" The importance to your company of the proposed branch
and the Shelmendale branch extension is enhanced by the
circumstance that the St. Helens Canal and Railway Com-
pany are applying to parliament, in the present session, for
powers to extend the St. Helens line to Itainford, there to
form a junction with the proposed Skelmeradale extension,
and thus connecting Southport arid Ormakirk with St.
Helens and places beyond.
"At present the tikehneridale branch—three miles in