The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-15 00:00:00

STOCKTON AND DARLINGTON.

The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders and
directors of the Darlington section of the North Eastern
Railway was held yesterday at Darlington ; Mr. Henry
Pease, the chairman of the company, presided. Ti's
report, which hu already been published, having been
read and adopted, the following dividends were declared;
5 per cent. per annum on the preference A shares; 6 per
cent. per annum on the preference B and C shares; 5i per
cent, per annum on the preference Dilate South Durham);
5 per cent per annum on the preference D (late Eden
Valley) shares ; 7} per cent. per annum on the ordinary
shares of this section. A discussion took place relative to
the running of mon trains on • Sunday to watering places
on the north-east omit, but it was generally considered
that no further facilities should be given. The Chairman
offered • few remarks on the decrease of dividend,
which he thought, eatedet:ng the stare of the
money market and the depressed state of trade of the
district during the last year, was no matter for eurprise.
There had been a small decrease in the passenger and also
iir the dock traffic. The former was probably through
the effects of the strike in the iron trade during the first
six months of this yearn To show the position of the
North Eastern Company in the market he might mention
that notwithstanding the reduction in dividend the shares
had increased in value since the publication of the report.
Mr. J. W. Pease, M.P., offered some remarks on the
sound position of the company.

INDIAN BRANCH.
•-•-

The ninth ordinary general meeting was held
yesterday at the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon-street,
specially to confirm the execution by the director! of •
deed of contract with the Secretary of State, securing to
the company • 5 per cent. guarantee of interest for their
lines of railway in Oude and Rohilkund; to alter the
name of the company from the " Indian Branch Railway
Company" to the Oude and Rohilkund Railway Com-
pany (Limited) ;" to increase the capital of the company,
and for the general business of the company. The report
of the directors has been published.
Mr. DENT, who presided, in moving its confirmation,
observed that at the previous meeting it was stated that
the board had opened negotiations with the Secretary of
State for exchanging the subsidy into a guarantee of in-
terest. The negotiation was long, but the last act of Lord II
Cranborne's tenure of office was to give a 5 per cent. gua-
rantee on the Oude and Rohilkund Railway. The com-
pany, however, gave up what was perhaps more valuable;
that was, the subsidy of 2001. • mile for 20 years, which
was equal to 2 per cent. on the expenditure on the line.
It was on this ground that the directors urged the gua-
rantee upon the government, and the result was fully ap-
preciated by capitalists, and the shares commanded ready
' subscriptions. The 50,00 W. charged for the Nulbatee line
by no means comprised the whole expenditure on that line,
or in Bengal, and to that extent they were indebted to the
Secretary of State. The conditions of the agreement
with the Secretary of State were that the government
were to give • guarantee of 5 per cent. on 4,000,0004 of
capital for 999 years in Oude and Rohilkund, including the
present subscribed capital of 1,000,0001; and if further
capital was required to complete and stock the 672 miles
of railway, that also was to receive the 5 per cent. gua-
rantee. The government provided the whole of the land
for the railway free of cost. Power was reserved to the
Secretary of State to regulate the fares pad tolls so far as
1 that the net profits should not exceed 10 per cent. The
profits in excess of 5 per cent. to be divided, one moiety
being taken by the government to reimburse them for the
interest paid by them (about 40,0001. or 50,000/) during
construction, and any further payments required would
also have to be recouped from the same source,
and the other moiety would go to the shareholders.
At any time during the 999 years the company could
surrender the railways to the government, on giving six
months' notice, receiving back the whole of their capital
and, on the other hand, the Secretary of State had the
right after twenty years to purchase the lines, and after-
wards at the expiration of every ten years of the 100
years ; and if this right was exercised within the 100
1 years the government were to pay to the company the
I mean market value of the stock in London during the
previous three years ; and if after the 100 years, then the
government would pay back only the capital expended.
I These were practically the same terms as were granted to
the other Indian railways, except as to the term being 999
instead of 99 years. This guarantee had extricated the
II company from its difficulties. and the result was shown by
the guaranteed shares, on which 2/. 10s, had been paid and
which some time ago were hardly saleable at 10a.,beingnow
nearly at par. The Lucknow line was opened on the 23rd
of April, but the traffic, which extended only over two
months of the rainy season, afforded nWindleation of what
would be the returns of that line, much less of the entire
system. The whole of the lines were almost surface lines.
They presented no engineering works of magnitude or
difficulty. The inclination was only 1 in 1,800, and the
average embankment were only 3 feet, and there waa no