The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-07 00:00:00

the South Yorkshire Railway Company, and, finding the
ra
arngements connected with the coal traffic involved many
constantly recurring matters of difficult adjustment, whilst
the limited mileage (about 25 miles) of the South Yorkshire
Company, naturally disinclined that hoard to second the
extensive arrangements required by the Great Northern
traffic, thought it better to make propositions for permanent
possession of the South Yorkshire line, and have been en-
abled to satisfy the South Yorkshire hoard that
the mineral traffic' which forms their chief source
of income, may be safely left to the management of the
Great Northern Company, upon the basis ultimately agreed
upon ; so that your directors will henceforth, provided the
arrangement meets with the sanction of the shareholders,
take the management of the South Yorkshire line jo work
it in conformity with the traffic arrangements on the Great
Northern line. The basis agreed upon is, in effect, that the
Great Northern Company shall guarantee to the South
Yorkshire Company a dividend of 3 per cent., and be en-
titled to carry 200,000 tom of coals, the present extent of
the traffic, to their railway ; and that the dividend shall
be increased by one-half per cent. upon every additional
100,000 tons carried, until 800,000 tons shall be carried, and
6 per cent. paid ; any quantity carried beyond this is to he
entirely free of charge. The dividend, when it has once
reached per cent., is not to recede, but is liable to fluc-
tuate between 6 sg per cent., according to each half-
year's traffic. Any South Yorkshire shareholder willing
to accept 4 per cent. as a definitive dividend, is to
have the option of doing so. The present outlay on
the South 1 orkshire Line is about 500,000/., and the Great
I Northern Company will henceforth take the management
of all further outlay, which may probably amount to
200,0001., or 700,0001. in all. The earnings of the South York-
shire Company, for the lest half-year, yielded a dividend of
I 2i per cent., and the effect of the arrangement agreed to
will be that this company will not pay more than 3 per
cent., can pt as the traffic in mineral, to the Great Northern
line increases ; and the Great Northern shareholders have
this s.itieflivtiory security, that for every additional pound
paid by them to the South Yorkshire Company they will be
earning, upon an average, •at least St. upon their own line.
The coal traffic on the Great Northern line, though only
in its commencement, is now yielding about 1,2(101. a week,
and appearing likely to be a sourer of great and permanent
income, it requires very extensive as well as econo-
mical arrangements in the principal coal field, freed from
the embarrassments which would he occasioned by the in-
' bills is-

terpmdtion of an independent company. The Mo., pro-
moted in parliament, besides the eztension to Cambridge
already alluded to, arc—Bill No. 1, for the increase of ca-
pital—several small deviations—and for making station ac-
commodation at Wakefield, Knottingley, and King's Cniss.
Bill Nn. 2, to obviate and prevent the recurrence of hind-
ranecu to the Great Northern trathe inteniosed by the Man-
cheater, Sheffithl and Lincolnshire Itailuay Company; to
provide station accommodation at Sheltield---a curve with
that company's railway at Belford, and a short branch at
Grimsby. 1 hear bills are mill proeinnling in the Holm of
Common,. Your directors also promoted another bill,
which was loot upon the second reading, to construct about
ten mile. of railway between Misterton and Itosingteen,,u
as to connect the loop line with the main line, without the
neccunity of using the line of the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire Company.
The al-counts of receipts and expenditure have already
appeared in the Express.
The CHAIRMAN said the director* had endeavoured to

embody he their re art all the inftinsatite on any subject
that could at all interest the shareholders, or was at all con-
nected with their railroad, and therefore it would only he
his duty to make smut. few passing remarks. The accounts
which had been in their hands for the last few clays showed
the progress which had been made in the undertaking, par-
ticularly as regarded the receipts and expenditure. Ile
loped it would br satisfactory to them to find that there
was, in point of fact, a balance to their credit of 52,5321.
Now they must bear in mind that the line was opened
from Peterborough to London only in August laat,
so that that was a satisfactory sum. As stated in
the report, however, there was a charge on this
balance amounting to 16,1611. 13s. 941. for dividend due to
preference shareholders to 31st December, and 15,8951. for
interest due on mortgage debt to the same period, leaving,
therefore, only 20,4.491., which was so small a sum that they
thought it better for the interest of the shareholders that no
dividend whatever should be made now. (Hear, hear.)
Passing over the month of September, which was an
cxtraordioary month on account of Doncaster races,
he found that in October their receipts were 22,11661., is
November they were 23,5161., and in December 33,341 L,
showing that in point of fact by opening the line from
Peterborough to London not only had the weekly receipts
been increased from that sourer, but to his surprise that
opening had raised the average receipts upon all the
northern part of the line. When their engineers told him
that additional siding., warehouses, and other works were
required, he could not oppose it, and it was on that account
he asked the shareholders to give their consent fur them to
go to parliament to raise 750,0001. The next point in the
report was with regard to the A and B shares. They pro-
posed to call them in six weeks or two months, and us a
matter of fairness he thought it right to advise those who
possessed these share undivided to divide them, as by so
Being they would do themselves no harm, and they might
save theniselves some muney. In the course of time he
thought there might be a difference in the value of those
shares, and he therefore advised the shareholders to take
advantage of the next six weeks to get them divided.
A PROPRIETOR asked how that could affect the 251.
shares.
The CHAIRMAN replied that lie thought it possible
that an A and B share in three years from this time might
be worth more than 231., and therefore if they had 2.11-
shame and did nut divide them, do not blame him. With
regard to the labourers employed on the line the directors
reameinended a vote of 2001. to be expended in their morel
and religious instruction. The money they had before
panted for this purpose hail had the best effect, and there-
fore he could not for a moment doubt that they would
grant it. The arrangement with the York and North Mid-
land company was working satisfactorily, and he did not
suppose that they would have any difficulty with them,
seeing that it was for the interest of that company to work
medially with them. In conjunction with the other
directors he had made arrangements fur the divi-
sion of the traffic between Edinburgh and York.
With respect to the Eastern Counties, they had endea-
voured to make an arrangement with them, but the gentles
men who approached them were not so happy as to possess
the confidence of the directors; and although they had
inside them an offer which they had themselves admitted to
be a liberal one, it had not been ratified by their board.
A SHAREHOLDER—Let them alone; after a time
the 'U come round. (Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN said he was certainly not disposed to
Erout of his way, after the treatment he had received.
wers.) He now emu) to a part of the report on whiehl
e would probably be some difference of opinion. The
East Anglian. had been in a very unfortunate posities,
for they had hitherto been abut up at both the east and
west ends; but by the assistance of this company they
might he let out at Peterborough. The arrangement coma
to was, that they were to take the working of the line, sad
to pay them not less than 13,0001. a year. That sum bad
been calculated upon their receipts for the last two or three
years; but they were to receive an additional sum provided
that the line earned it. For that they would give the
Great Northern a communication with the northern parts
of Norfolk which the latter could not otherwise get ; mai
which it was certainly the interest of the East-
ern Counties to prevent their ever gaining. (fleas,
hear.) By this means they would be able to
obtain a large portion of traffic from Norfolk, Lancashire,
and Yorkshire, which they would have been prevented from
doing but for this agreement; and while thus bonefitpeg
their northern lines, they would only be paying the Last
Anglians what they earned. The only question was, whe-
ther they could afford to pay 15,0001. a year, but considering
that for that sum they would have turned over to them
about 67 miles of railway, he could not but think that it
was a pidicious arrangement, and one that would contribute
materially to the traffic of their northern lines, and to a
certain extent also to those of the south. (Hear, hear.) He
thought, therefore, that it was a very wholesome policy to
take the railway, and although he could not presume to
find fault with any criticism, he was prepared to stand by
it. (Cheers.)
A BIIABEHOLDER--How long is this arrangement to
last?
A DIRECTOR--Twenty-one years.
The CHAIRMAN observed that with respect to CIIIIO
bridge, the company had failed in their attempts to seesse
a communication with that town. He was exceedingly bony
at that result ; but he had no doubt whatever that they
(the Great Northern) would get to Cambridge before long.
The line was already open from 'litchi° to Royston, and
would soon be open to Shepreth, which was only seven miles
from Cambridge ; and Mr. Goulburu had promised that, if
the Eastern Counties did not make their line to the
last-named place, he would then support the Great
Northern, Thus they would soon have a inc from Hitchin
to Royston, from Royston to Shepreth, and from Shepreth
to Cambridge ; so that the public would have the advantage
of travelling to Cambridge by the Great Northern Railway,
and the company would have the benefit of carrying them.
(Cheers.) With respect to the Manchester, Sheffield, and
Lincolnshire, they had been unable to come to any definite
terms with them. As long
.as they continued, thus bound
by their present contracts with the Midlands sad the Lon-
don and North Western companies, it would be highly im-
probable that any satisfactory arrangement would be made
with them.
The South Yorkshire bad endeavoured to get ea
advance upon the six per cent. which they wove
to receive when 800,000
.tons should be earned is a
year, but he thought that six per cent. was quite sufficient