The Express.
London, England, 1851-01-15 00:00:00

Yesterday an extraordinary general meeting of the
shereholden in this line was held at the Linden Tavern,
for the purpose of submitting a plan for raising 860,0001.,
the amount of money necessary to complete the reilway, by
the hese of preference shares to that anieunt. Lord WARD
in the their.
The fullowine contains the prinepel parties' of the
neon:
ss The proprietors are aware that under an act Means 1
in the last session the company have pewee to raise the capital
sot yet created by the issue or preferential shares. Without
this power it would have been us -less for your directors to
contemplate the completion of the undertaking; but the
power having been obtained it Weems tere provions of the
board, first, to use. rtain the sleet amount of money recta-
eery to complete the line from Oxford to Wolverhampton ;
and, eicoadly, to find competent parties who wield under-
take the works upon terms within the command of the
company. With the view of &fleeing both objects, your
director altered into negoreatioca with Messrs. Ps.o and
Betts, and with Merin. Tosadwells, and they are happy to
say that they have made arrangements with then parties of
enlist-aeon nature. Messrs. Paw and Betts have tendered
to complete the railway between Oxford god Were, sor, and
between Tipton and Wolverhampton (save some small por-
tions in the Wide Mother crettraMors), with 'tattoos
mem ether remelsen woreiready for orrong,within 18
from the aommeneenst nt of the contract, well,: Mean.
Treader/1k have offered in like manner to complete the line
between Worcester and Tipton: these tenders have been
ae:emed by your director., subject to the pr tprietors resolv-
ing eo raise the retessery share capital. The amount of
these works will cot exeeen the total oast previously
armored with other contractors. It is undersexed teat both
firms will render reeterial meistance by rutmer bine largely
tor any shares wbieh may be created, and which may not be
taken op by the supermen. In order that the sin Out
neeesesry for the p lake! of all existirer banillties, and for
the completion of the railw ty between Oxford and Wolver-
hampton, mieht he clearly astertained, your directors
instructed Messrs. GeOter, Ball, end Co , to investigate the
financial condition of the company, and to report the total
amount expended and to be expended on the undertaking.
These gentlemen have merle their report, by which they state
that it will be necessery to provide • mum of 1,35-5,0611. more
then tau already been expend. rt. and that the sots, cot of the
undertaking will be 3,090,4991. Your directors believe that
;be sum thus stated is luny sufficient for the 'impose
contemplated; it is somewhat larger than the directors
had been led te e epee , but the lignite are no longer depend-
eet apes estimates. The amount already rain el is
leoo,oooe in there•, and by loan, et the date of the account
ant's statement, 200,43e1 ; together, 1,705,4391 ; leaving,
so stated above, the sem at 1,385.0611. to be mind to eini•
pieta the eau of 3,090,4961. as the cost of the entire under-
taking. Towards this sum there then nmainei unexhausted
loan powers under the first set, amounting to 293,0001., and
vett dieemers propose to rains the further sum requisite
under the Company's two anti of 1849, namely. Biio,oool. in
stares, sad 283,33.31. by lona. If this proposition be artepted,
the Company will penes a railway from Oxford to
Wolverhampton 91 miles in length, and their capital will
meant of, ordinary shore under act of 1815, 1,500,0001. ;
leans under the same, e 30.0001. • preference shares under
the two sea of 1818, 86 0001 ; loans ender the
same. 23,3331. ; total, 8,133,3331. It is not how-
ever the intention of your directors to proceed with
the masks 'netween Tipton and Wolverhampton until
it shall have been ascertained that some arrangement of a
reasonable character cannot b• effected with the L;ndon
end North Western Rail-ray Company for the use of their
SLOW Volley line between these places. The cost of this
porion of your undertaking will exceed 300 0001., and in-
asmuch as the Stour Valley Railway runs nearly torelli.l
with this company's line loom Tipton to Wolverhampton,
year directors trust that the expenditure of this large sum
of :money may be avoided without merifieing the Wolver-
hampton traffic. They think It, however, moat expedient
that there should be bat one clam of preference shares, and
therefore, although they do not at present propose arse*
this portion of the share, row to be created, yet they desire
to have .he power of astir g as time sad eireemstanen shall
indicate to be n.oet beneficial for the comps' and to deter-
mine hereafter the further rails if found requisite."
[The retort then roceeeed to point cue the great wales
lot the line to,a jesiih.:Mion foe the present prcposi ionel
" The whole of this line will cost, as stated, 3.110,0001,
or 33,0001 a mile, am! few railway undertakings of similar
magnitude have cost less. Many of the shereholden deemed
the line leased to the Great Western Railway Company,
eed did sot inquire into its intrinsie merits, and mem the
toilers of the mraegennots with that company upon the
beset insisted capes by your board, three sharelwiders retired
loom the undertaking, and its value beanie of seers-
city depreciated in the estimation of the pnblic. Your dine-
tore, on the easurary, have alway cutorteleed the cpinioa that
the line was in itself valuable, and possessed& Mafia which,
upon completion, wield folly remunerate hammers, whether
waked at a actinide underteking or under an arrangement
with another company. For these Tease.* ',Ur directors
Phonily recommend the sharehelien to Sod their propor-
tionate parts of the proposed new geoid upon the term,
stated in the resolutions hereunto appended. The directors
are gratified to say that Lord Ward, whose mineral peeperty
on the northern end of the lose is most extensive and
valuable, and whose friendly cooperation upon the opening
of the lice will be fruitful in treflit, has joined the board of
eke C,Ore, and is cow the chairman of the company. Lord
tVard was elected in the stead of Mr. Lewis who resigned
for the purpose. The directors have further to report ;that
Mr. Tapp and Mr. Tacker have also resigned their seats at
the hoard, and their places have been filled up by the
election of Mr. W. 11. Thomas ant Major Tynlell, beat of
whom hove considerable expaienco in the formation and
management of railways."
The CHAIRMAN said that La laying before the share-
holders the actual state sad future prospeam of the
eempazy he would require the indulgence of the meet-
ing, as he had only been meetly made acquainted with
the facts relatifs.; to their positica. He would, how-
ever, to the best of his power lay heifers them the
position in which they stead. He need pot en-
large gebefore those wno were, he had no doubt, well se-
gmented with that poeitioa, the importance of the present
mostiag. They were met to piece one of the great lines of
the railway system in this kingdom on a more favourable
footing than it occupied tap to the present time, led in that
esition which it ought to hold. (Hear, hear.) Much time
Red been wasted in negotiations with eompasiee in con-
nexion with theirs, and many hopes bad been held out that
these negotiations would have ended in • satisfactory and
legitimate conclusion. They had not done so however, and
they were now met to place their undertaking in ne peeper
footing. of an independent line. (Hear, hear.) How far
he was justified in saying that expectations had been held out
by the Great Western Company that they would carry out
the line, which he hoped they would now carry out icr
themeless, he did not know; but that they existed to a very
greet extant was undoubted. (Hear. hear.) The position
ht which he was placed was quite uncaps cad by him, and he
was aware that it required a certain amount of knowledge,
which he leered he wee not then possessed of, but he hoped
to make up for any want of knowledge by the deep and
great interest he had in the emcees of tee undertaking. The
question was whetter they would consent with an united
TACO to carry out this project by raising an additional loan.
In the first instance a large estimate had been put
before t them, but it was found to be inadequese.
Another estimate was then put before them, and that was
also found to be nude gnats to put the line in a working state.
A still larger on* was now put before them, but with this
important 'Menders, that it was no linger bawd en proba-
bility and conjecture, but upon actual tender. (Her, bean)
The usual expenditure amounted to 1,500,0001., and it was
calculated that the total impediment for completing the line
would amegat to mon than 3.000,0001. They had therefore
to find the dsffereace, in order to enable them to complete
the line. Now toward, this sum there remained
ens xhausted loan powers under the first act of
parliament, amounting to 295,000/., and it wee pro-
posed to raise the further sum requisite, under the
company'ssets of 1848, namely 8500001., by the
issue of preferential shares at 6 per cent, It became a serious
question, affecting the interests of all who went frankly Into
this matter, to consider whether this large addital sum
should not be raised as the only hops of securing a return on
the first outlay. Na doubt it was • very large additional
amount, bit soles, they wished to give up altogether the
enormous sum of 1,600,0001, which Mead been already ex.
pended, this additional outlay must be encountered. And
if the figures he had given him were correct,
the coot of earry'ng the *, line into operation de-
spite the mentions expenditure that had been created
during the railway mania, would not be so great as that of
other lines in the United Kingdom, which had a far less
prospect of a remulerative return than the railway the
interest of which he was now advocating. (Hear, hear.)
They had then to determine whether they would enable the
direeton to carry out this great undertaking, or whether
they would menace the sum which they had already ad-
vanced ? Bat then he would be asked what was the actual
pi sT.on of the Company, what was its position likely to be,
end how was the expenditure and income to be hammed. In
reply he would say that the wire expenditure for putting
the Jisie in worhirg order was more than 3,000,0031
on which there was satisfactory proof that the income,
allowine 40 per cent• as the cost of working the line, would
be 130,0001. He thought he was justified in taking this
tiaras, as it was below the mark which had been sworn to
before the committee of the House of Commons, and which
formed the basis of the alliance between them and the Great
Western Company. Now it was not probable that a great
compels, like **Great Western, with all their means of
obtaining accurate laformation, would have taken this as the
basis of the alliance between them if it was not likely to be
correct. Since that time, elm, new means of communication
had been opened, and gray new line formed would of Course
swell their receipt's. Hi would enpmee that they had consented
to the raising of this 860,0001. by issuing preference sham,
at 6pa cent. The interest upm this sum would be 51,0001.
a year. The whole of the debenture stock, including that
already la exhumes sad that ninth was to be meted,