The Express.
London, England, 1866-11-27 00:00:00

LONDON, CHATHAM, AND DOYLE RAILWAY.

Yesterday afternoon a meeting of the debenture
holders in this undertaking was held at the Victoria Sta.
tion, for the purpose of enabling them to confer with the
directors respecting the proposition made to issue, if par-
liament so sanction, new capital to the extent of
1,500,0001., bearing a preference over the debentures. The
proceedings were of • very stormy character, and the
meeting was densely crowded.
Lord HARRIS, having taken the chair, endeavoured to
open the business, but there was an immediate cry for
en adjournment to a larger room. His lordship explained
that the Vice-Chancellor had refused to allow the sum ex-
pended in obtaining St. James's-hall for the last two meet-
ings, and there was no alternative but to make use of the
accommodation they had got. Strong dissatisfaction was
expressed at the want of spaoe, and Mr. Hodgson, the
chairman of the debenture holders' committee, offered to
pay for a room at the Grosvenor Hotel, but it was found
that all the rooms were engaged. After nearly an hour
had been spent in fruitless endeavours to obtain more ac-
commodation, and telegrams had been sent to St. James's-
hall-and Exeter-hall, it was announced from the chair that
, unless the meeting were adjourned altogether they must
'goon in the room in which they were. This course having
; been reluctantly assented to,
The CHAIRMAN explained that the plan which, after the
fullestconaideration, and a thorough understanding of the
position of the company, the &meters had published, ap-
peared to them the only one which could be adopted to
renovate the company. Their first object, of course, was
that the line should not be stopped, but should continue to
earn as much as possible ; the next was to get rid of the
present unsatisfactory condition of affairs, and, if possible,
to bring about a better state of things. On the present
occasion the directors rather desired to hear the opinions
of the debenture holders on the proposals which had been
made than to give utterance to anything themselves.
The plan that had been submitted to them had the united
I approval both of himself and his colleagues, but there
were naturally a great many points connected with it
which must interest the debenture holders as well as the
shareholders, and upon such points the directors would be
glad to confer with them. He hoped, therefore, that that
conference would be carried on in a business-like manner,
and that such subjects only would be considered as imme-
diately bore upon the proposals of the board, and that
some mode would be agreed upon which would tend to
improve the position of the company. (Hear, hear.) He
would not detain them longer, but should be glad to an-
swer inquiries, or make such explanations as might be re-
quired by the debenture holders. (Hear.)
Mr. Honceow, as chairman of the committee of deben-
ture holden, next addressed the meeting. He said— I
In speaking to the proposition which is new laid before the
meeting, I must at the outset express my regret, and in
which I believe the directors will yet concur, that the
subject matter had not been previously discussed in con-
ference before it was brought before the debenture
holders. The scheme upon a smaller scale to raiseone mil-
lion, now one million and a half, having been rejected by
the House of Lords, and the debenture stock having been
negatived by at least one member of the present executive,
there was no difficulty in doing so, for the directors have
been in communication with the committee. and a meeting
could have been held at which it might have been possible
to have arranged a scheme for the shareholders to have con-
tributed a fair proportion of capital instead of reviving
plans already negatived. It has been asserted that our
security is ample—so much the better ; but if it is but
scanty, so much the more necessary that it should be care-
fully guarded. (Hear, hear.) At this moment the deben-
ture holders have no accounts before them but those of the
committee of investigation, who now have taken the place
of the old directors and become directors themselves ; and
the only policy yet indicated for the future appears to be a
desire to follow former precedents by raising more money.
Before this is done let us see what has become of the large
sums raised ; let us see whetherthose large minis have been
properly applied to the purposes of the undertaking, and
let the debenture holders have that information given to
them without which it will be impossible to arrive at the
just position of things. Our committee have endeavoured
to get at the expenditure of the common fund, and wrote
to the directors. The reply was that the debenture holders
had no business to ask such questions. We wrote again,
claiming as debenture holders on the common fund a right
to have such information, and received to this second ap-
plication a mere for mal acknowledgment of the letter. I
speak of this to ahow that the deb.uture holders have no
information, and can get none, and therefore I sin compelled
to glean such facts as I can from the printed half-yearly
reports which have within the last few days come into my
hands ; and atter a careful perusal I can only say that such
a sanguine series of delutdve hopes and fallacious expecta-
tions were never brought together. Theme reports printed in
this station, and circulated every half-year to every share-
holder (but not to any debenture holder), would have
opened the eyes of the shareholders if carefully read, ea
they ought to have been, unless the readers were wilfully
blind to the consequences. (Hear, hear.) Taking the
report of February, 1855—Lord Sondes in the chair, Lord
Harris deputy-chairman, and the directors then present,
with their solicitors. their secretary and manager, sur-
rounded by their shareholders-1 find at page 2'l
that Mr. Holroyd is reported thus :—" With regard
to Lloyd's Bonds, I repeat that this company
never raised money upon Lloyd's Bonds ; that it was
not legal to do so ; but that when the contractors
had in anticipation of the capital sanctioned by the
shareholders, for which they were applying to parliament
—when the contractors had consented to advance
money pending the authority of parliament being ob-
tained, so as to prevent the stoppage of the works—they
had given the contractors an acknowledgment of the debts
so incurred, which it was only just they should have, and
that acknowledgment had been called a Lloyd's Bond."
From the statement lately made at Bristol by Sir Morton
Peto, this was no temporary arrangement, for he proven
that on the lith Dec., 1853, the main line owed upwards
of a million and a quarter upon Lloyd's Bonds ; and if
you refer to the company s reports published up to
31st December, 1853 (same year), you will find the
sum put down as due to sundry creditors only
225,329/. lie. 1(1., and upon the sail page is printed,
" Examined and approvtd, .J. E. Colman and George
Eley, auditors." On the saute page he further wide, "They
had arrived at a point when they could pay all rent-
charges, and interest on debentures end first preference
stock." On the next page, a shareholder asks, " Whet
debenture interest had the company paid in the last Kix
months ?" The secretary (Mr. Johnson) : " The debenture
interest was 31,520/. lds. 9d. during the half-year, and
had been paid out of the earnings of the half-year (ending
December, 18411)." The directors, their solrcitors, their
staff, and a large body of shareholders hear this statement,
and see it again when printed, and from that report, printed
in the company's works, the debentures are figured thus:
Authorised Wue f 3, nerel rndertaktog .el c15.71)9
„ Metropolitsn katendont 1.43.1.000
Common Fund
And Stock of Commit Fund

£4,01.800

The interest on this sum at rO per cent. amounts in the
half-year to 111,9451. I will not stop upon this point until
we reach the next half-year. On pace 29 Mr. Forbes says :
" The common fund was established for the purpose of
building stations and pmv,ding workshops, machinery, &.c.,
for purposes common to all the lines of the company. It
amounted to 1,000,000 f., all placed at 5 pet cent." Has
WA million been so applied ? (Hear.) I now come again to
Mr. Holroy.l, who add "The arrangements the directors
had made with regard to the issue of the ordinary stock were
these :—They felt it would be desirable to avoid issuing
that stock to the pubitc at the present time, as the value
of that stock would increase every week, and if they could
not defer it for the present, they would have to make a
large sacrifice. Several large shareholders and others had,
therefore, taken a portion of the stock at a certain price,
the directors having the power to redeem it at the same
price some 12 months from the present time. and they
were indebted to these geutleinen who came forward to
assist them." What comment can be made upon this