The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-29 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN AND BRENTPORD RAILWAY

The half-yearly meeting of this company was
held at the offices, No. 5, Westminster-chambers, Victoria-
street, Wes muster, yesterday afternoon ; Mr. Pzrzis
DAVIT, chairman, in the chair.

The report of the directors stated that the traffic in
general goods daring the last six months exhibited • slight
diminution compared with the corresponding period of last
year, but the directors were enabled to congra;ulate the
shareholders upon such an increase in the coal traffic as
would enable them to recommend an improved dividend.
The individual influence that the directors had been
enabled to exercise in the coal trade had largely tended to
produce this result, and they suggested to the shareholders,
that each one of them should use his interest in inducing
traffic to be passed over the line. The distrust upon the
mind of the public with recard to railway debentures bad not
abated, andnotvrithatanding the solid basis of the security
upon which the debenture debt of this company rested,
the board had been obliged to advance the rate of interest.
The average rate of interest now paid was 4 j per cent. ;
for the half leer ended June 30th, 1866 it was 4i per
cent. Upon the subject of debentures the directors de-
sired to again impress upon the shareholders the very satis-
factory nature of the security upon which debenture
holders in this company might rely. The balance to the
credit of revenue account, after bringing into account the
charges for the half-year, was 2,9801. 3e. Bd. Upon this
sum the preference shareholders bad • first claim of
1,7271. for the dividend, upon their shares, and the directors
recommended that the balance 1,253/. 3s. BcL should be
applied to the payment of a dividend at the rate of 24 per
cent. per annum upon the ordinary shares, which would
leave the sum of 511. 3s. 9d. to be carried forward to the
next account.

-11pna the tuotian of the Outman, etoonded by Mr. H.
Mimosa, the report and amounts were adopted.
The dividend recommended by the directors was de-
clared.

Mr. W. blades (of the firm of Mosta. and Gifford) woe
elected auditor in the place of his father, who had died
since the last meeting of the company ; and the proceed-
up concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

COCKERMOVIII, KEDWICE, AND PENSITH RAIL-
WAT.—The directors' report for the half-year ended July
31st, states that the receipts on the revenue account for
the half-year were 13,5801. Os. 3d., and the expenditure,
8,160/. 11.. 6d. After paying interest on debentures, &a,
the sum of 292/1. Is. 2& remains available for dividend.
Out of this the directors propose to declare • dividend at
the rate of 24 per cent. per annum, lees income-tax, and
to carry the balance of W. Is. 2d. to next account.

LANCASTER AND CARLISLE RAILWAT.—The half-
yearly meeting of the proprietors was held at Lancaster on
Tuesday ; Mr. E. \V. Hagen ;weeded. The chairman, in
moving that a dividend at the rate of 9f per cent. upon
the consolidated stock of the company be declared, said
that although it was somewhat less than in former cor-
responding periods, he thongt the shareholders had no
reason to be dissatisfied, when they bore in mind the con.
dition into which some other lines had fallen. He con-
sidered that the London and North-Western Company, to
whom the Lancaster and Carlisle was leased, had managed.
their affairs admirably, and be had every confidence in the
lease. Mr. W. Jackson seconded the motion, which was
carried. It was also resolved that a dividend of 4i per
cent. upon the preference stook be declared. Mr. W. N.
Hodgson, Mr. W. Birley, and Mr. T. E. Bolden
were re-elected directors; and Mr. H. Crosfield was re-
elected an auditor.

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON RAILWAY.—The report
of the directors states that there has been a decrease of
1661. in the passenger traffic as compared with the corre-
sponding half of 1866, while in the goods and parcels
traffic there has been an increase of 731., leaving • net
decrease of 931. The balance available for dividend on the
ordinary shares amounts to 1,9501., and will admit of •
dividend of 7a. 9d. per share. The dividend for the cone-
spending half-year of 1966 amounted to Bs. per share. The
capital account shows that 106,018/. bas been expended.
IMPRISONMSNT OF A CARELESS ENGINE-DRIVES.
—At Kilmarnoch, before the sheriff and • jury, David
Moir, an engine-driver lately in the employment of the
Glasgow and South Western Railway Company, was
charged with culpable neglect of duty on the 22nd May
last, whereby he ran the locomotive of which he was in
charge into an excursion train at the Dairy Junction,
seriously injuring • number of the passengers. It appears
that on the morning of the day mentioned, an excursion
train left Ayr for Glasgow ; and, according to previous ar-
rangement, was delayed at Miry Junction, that the
passengers' tickets might be then collected. A regular
train, of which the accused was driver, left Ayr about
half-an-hour afterwards. For the protection of the
former train • danger-signal was exhibited at
the signal-station, about 303 yards from where the
carriages were standing ; but the accused, failing to bring
his engine to a stand, according to the regulations of the
company, ran past the signal and came into collision with
the excursion train. The prisoner in his declaration ad-
mitted having transgressed the rules of the company, but
stated that be had failed to come to • stand at the signal,
because he had not anticipated any obstruction, and lie-
cause the signalman was in the habit of alloying the
danger signal to remain longer than was necessary, to save
himself the trouble of removing it. He had abut off the
steam before seeing the signal, and at the usual pl. e, so
as to stop at the junction. Special defenies were lodged
(I) That the distant signal was not so placed as tote visible
to him at • distance sufficient to make him bring his train
ton dead stand before reaching it ; and, 2—That the acci-
dent occurred because the person in charge of the excur-
sion train, while it was obstructed in its journey, failed
to send back a red flag 750 yards to prevent the panel's
engine approaching. For the prosecution, the company's
instructiorui to their enginemen were produced, expli-
citly stating that " in approaching any junction, kc., when
the danger signal is shown from the distant signal, the
enginetunn shall bring his train to a dead stand before
reaching it," and that "every engineman is specially
directed to regulate the speed of his engine, so as to com-
ply with this regulation." It was shown in e'idence
that the accused, instead of regulating the speed of
his engine, so as to come to a stand opposite the signal if
necessary, went so fast before coming in sight of the danger
signal as to be unable to do so. It was further shown that
in a case such as the one in question, it was not the duty
of the person in *llama the train lying within the station
to send back • red tag, the danger-sipal being regarded
as perfectly sufficient. The jury unanimously returned •
verdict of guilty, with a recommendation to leniency, on
account of the prisoner's good character and reputation for
steadiness and carefulness during nearly twenty years'
service. The sheriff complied with the recommendation,
and sentenced Moir to three months' imprisonment.