The Express.
London, England, 1858-08-14 00:00:00

ORI4T TVISTERN.

The half-yearly general meeting of the share-
holders of this company wee held yesterday at the statics,
Bristol, the Hon. F. PONSONBT, the chairman of the board,
The The report and amounts, which have •already appeared in
the Sara" were taken se reed.
The CHAIRMAN, fa MOViag that the report and accounts be
received sad adopted, said—l know full well that some
disappointment must be hit at the result of the working of
the line for the last belt--year. (Hear, hear,) I can swore
you that it has bees most disappointing to the directors,
particularly after they have need their heat endeavour', by •
reduction of expenditure, and by envenom efforts to im-
prove the position of the eonpesy, b find that—almost, I
believe, for the first ti teethe receipts have did-
slated in comparison with the serreeponding period of last
rev ; and to Gel aim that it Is their du , ander the eft-
eametences, to recommead the to f the
balaace that remsine after paying_ the regular
ispoa the revenue. (CArlea of " No, a j " Tee, yea."
sad " Hai, hear.") is is a matter that rests entirely
with the shareholders ; but it is the duty et do directors
to tender the beet advice in their power, sod th=
MOND ba the determination I have stated, set
the Naomi horn not been properly malodor that the
unseat divisible is so email 'bat dmply kg the
I MIMS mallemell in the report, that by wiyag forward
the hawse yea stremmthen the Wandal xedMea of the
eamputeg. Mew bear.) dad it is meet Wadi et the
pram* shoe M show that, eves for the sake If paying a
smell divithmd, yea thick it is better ea the whole set to
divide the balsam bat to retain It, sad so lasprove your pai-
d= by tonewincl you at ygeeteets, emadely on awe
Waned& War time yoar
would be able ie de wane yea to
divide be the lest ADDacl. (Hew, hear.) I do nee thigh
mesh espinallea is wormy to thaw the cares which Lye
led Ws dialenties in ow wan I beim Ow hem bees
pretty liDy "whined in We meets el the Mame sew
ponies, med we weld not meat to be We tem tie diS-
, wiles "WWI eld edam Wee espiriewed. Mae, kw.) I
Wok die Mien sir may be classed shortly wpm We Wed'
—mosedee impsikka sad the Wass Mike frau
the
we anal of last wee; sad the (wet* it
'bathes weft( meld have been dome by the Ward the
would haw leisially Wend our patties. In looking bath
ca the meth of Id year I am really unable te ise that
we add with 'dreamy have taken say axles mine
don that whisk lee edepeld. With reaped se emeepailise,
we ham dew all that we amid to avoid it. We have ham
hat to lea be. wIDIng to enter into earromate with other
compadee to L thy race at ranumme log pear, and VIM
we were usable to agree we have always bleu reedy to &flew
tha matter to be settled by impartial arbitration, end
meet tams we have arrived at a eatiefectory result. in the
earth the betroduetioa of new prase into • district bee
ceased what may be celled an upsetting of the old rasa end
the consequence has ban a most unrenotinerative taming
cif teethe for the half-year for all patties. It may be Wid
that we might have "awed more Mealy into this
doe, and inermemd the maturity of our trade. ll=
bad dam so that increased amount of tr.flio neat have ham
carried at lower rates, and we should not haveberaisth ear
profits. I think. therefore, we shell moan year oppwrel
In the direction we haw gives to oar eilleas, mat es led,
bet to follow, la any rethadon that may tale piece. If we
were to say " We will not reduce." it would be to/Meshed to
saying . We wit not cwry at all." Our Oa of sat lirdbg,
bat Mawbg, suss et mitotic& is safer to ewes WOW
Ow The is Se easy visas is TIMIIIMOStiVII, sot to be sue
emainh bat. If emeible, to enter into camaathestlea
with ether isie for the purpose of making seek amage-
meals es wit be tommitial to aD. (New hair.) It
bee Wee mail that ow Mooting have Id, a w-
ait seesat, le the loss of ; that with a allu
amemed 018110Mataktkill by Was we could notatpirg
mos amemet ef trod. Now, I do net think that is • mews'
viewer Ws pasha. I Wine the Madmettra In the swam
Was bee *alp hew elmweesnmee with the imenseed imam
dtopolrl sad If we bad tun • Wiper amber el Wok
we Weald way Wee heated ear expeame willsal assois
a amasses la Of incase. If we hal yea we
bale wlllet that
have
other Ilass
that%Sis
cartalaly have madders' we bail
esrrisa er islasdasts too far. But such bat not beta the sew
except whim asawaitio• lams tutees. We have Ma more
favourably cireennetanced dna other commoim. °whiny'
off has not beta Noel- 1 *Mk what we Ws deo b. ilia

• reopen will receive your approval, fur we have endeavoured
to provide ouch acconunon as would be remunerative
to ourselves without interfering with the reqtrirensents of
the public. (Bear, bear.) We have redeemed the promise
we gave that wewould endeavour to effect a redaction of
oar expenditure. We have done so to a very large amount,
and you will not have failed to observe that U our traffic had
kept up to what it was last year, we should haw. been
a to give yea the same mecum of dividend,
sad to eany forward • larger balance. This, unfortunately,
owing to the mums I have mentioned, is not the case,
and it Is for you to decide whether the advice given by
the directors is wise or not. Another promise given by
us was that we would endeavour to establish friendly re-
lations with other companies. In all cases we have sada.-
Toured to bring all matters in sufferance to a close, and
they have been all either settled ware in • fair way of set-
tlement, except the northern competition, which has been
introduced by the Great Northern mad North-Weetern Com-
panies into the northern &Orkin I hope, however, that
no
great time will elope wittiest • settlement of that ques-
tion. (Hear, hear.) With respect to the emipesitio• whisk
has been gobg on for some time at RssAsg, em arrange-
ment has been come to with the South-Eastern and South
Wester& Companies, whisk to fair to all puttee, and which
I hope will prove satisfacney. Thee arrangement is to be
in ;NOD for three years, bet I trust that it will be prolonged,
ice ft is based on the prineiple of making all the treffie we
ma for the benefit of all the three conmeetes. (Her,
bear.) An arrangement has bees entered into with the
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Company, to
which I alluded at the nuns. is Union. Every one will
agree that it was most desirable to put a stop to the expen-
give parliamentary coated between that company sad our
ewe,. she eke le any 'Mtge* eel Might in-W. It Is tree
we have give up the right to compel them to lay down the
broad gunge on their line. The agreement, which will be
carried into effect ender an act of parliament, provides that
they are to rut,out of our station at Oxford in connexion
with the passenger trains ; that there is to be sat inlet-
change of traffic bet rem the two companies; that litiga-
tion 011 these paints fa paten end to ; that for Mae years
they are to maks an annual payment of 2,0001. a year for
the privilege of taking up some broad guage rails which
have been laid down. The payment of the 2,0001. Is to be
made either annually or u one atm, as may be agreed be-
tween the parties. We are to run over their line from Priest-
fleld to Wolverhampton, they doing the like over our line
between Oxford and Wolveroot. The amount of traffic, carried
by us over their portion of line exceeds that which they will
carry over ours, and we shall benefit to the amount of from
2,0001. to 3,0001., and if the traffic from the north im-
proves that amount will be still further Mermaid. (Hear
hear.) We have, during the heti-year, kept • careful
watch over the question of expenditure, in accordance with
the promise given by us to the sh ireholders. A resolution
exists that no liabilities should be incurred beyond thus
then stated without corning to the shareholders. and such Is
still oar view of the question. We have an espeadinwe com-
mittee, which look' most narrowly into every expense, and
no large outla ham been incurred except the making of •
yarrow gauge jy tlon at Reading, which was suctioned at
the led raesting. That was a matter of necessity, and will be
of edthatege to the company. We mention in the report two
points to regard to which we recommend an outlay and ask
your approval. One is the doubling of • portion of ilia Warn
sad Somerset line between Yeovil and Everskolt. It has
been found almost impossible to work the traffit with • single
line. It is to • certain extent dangerous and very expen-
sive, because it cannot be due without the employment
of giddiness] engines. We, therefore, propose to double that
portion of the 1t... But you need setbe alarmed
ea
to say great expense. The way to which we
to proceed Is this a portion of the line having bee
laid down double with timber, we shall apply that tim-
ber to the new work, and, so far as Mates to that
part of the business, there will be nothing to pay for
but the cost of labour. We propose to enter Into an
arrangement with the Oxford, Woroester, and Wolver-
hampton Company to supply u with some of their rails
and timber in lieu of the payment which they have agreed
to make. We think, by applying these rails and that tim-
ber to the construction of the new portion of the line, we
shall improve the line and diminish the expww of working
it without incurring any charge beyond that for laborer.
(Hese, hear.) The other expense we propose to Meer le for
the parpose of making a bridge over the West London Rail-
way. Even if this were not • matter of necessity
between us and the London mad North Western Company,
it wed be important to get rid of the level crossing just as
you are approaching the metropolis. But the fact is, that
• lawsuit was going as between the two companies on this
It beg always been considered desirable that this
=egtshould be erected, and an egrsement existed pro.
Tiding. that one of the mospanim might go to parliament
kr ammeary power, having the relative amounts payable
by each company to be ended by arbitration. Oa
over the matter with the Marquis of =
Claude*, wethought
that the lawsuit min:A.OOlK more money then the
gable, sand considered it des Meese the bridge, leaving
the proportionate payments to be settled by arbitration.
(Hear, halm) There may, perhaps, be other matters which
require explanation which I shall be happy to afford. It
hes been said that the account. are not Now, if any
one can suggest a mode by which they can be made clear,
we shall be happy to attend to such suggestion. Bat ft
seems to me that any want of charmer oan only arise In the
minds of those who take up the accounts and read them over
hastily, without reference to former amounts and the reports
of preceding half-years. As the accounts are canted on
in the same form from half-year to half-year, there can be
no difficulty in understanding all the items. But if any
difficulty should exist, we will do all we can to remove it.
I stated on a former occasion that the directors end officers
of the company were anxious to afford the shareholders
every information in their power, sot only at the half-yearly
meeting but at any other time. Curbsg the past half-year
Mr. Odes came to Paddington and inquired into various
matters respecting which hemtmtained some doubt ; but
the result was, that he afterwards eressed lawmen fully
satiated. I will only say, in conclonon, that we have no
desire to conceal anything, and that we shall always be happy
to seed the shareholders any information which they may
(Hear, hear.)Pioretwrott—What is the nature of the arrangements
se to the Reeding traffic I
The CRAIMIAN —lt Is to charge remunerative rates by all
the lines, and to apportion the receipts equally to each of the
companies for the next seven years.
MOW Cover referred to the statement that them had
beta • earls( fa the waking expenw of 28,4271., end in-
tended that if they went into the accounts of the previous
half year they would find it to be only 18,0001. It was said
that the object of not paying dividend was to enable the com-
pany to take advantage of the money market, and obtain the
renewal of loans on more favourable terms. That was so far
so good. But the directors farther said that some redaction
had already been made in this respect. They said—" 801314
redaction in the interest upon loans has already been effected,
as appears from the accounts; and the directors will
vere in every effort to avail themselves of the state
of the money msrket for • further saving in that charge."
That was fallacious, for the accounts showed an increase of
debentures to the amount of 186,0001. and more. If then
the loins were increased, how was it possible that any pro-
gress could have been made in the ream :doe of interest ?
A I/neer-roe—ln the rat* of intermit.
Major CoultT—There had, it wee true, been a demean in
the current loans of something under 30,0001., but that left •
positive increase of more than 160,0001.
Mr. flawnizas-1 OMB expisin that.
Major COURT-4 know whet you are to say. Toners
On 10 tell tee that you paid 270,0001. L hided is the ono
bail-yew and 269,00 W. in the Mbar ; ben ins Is ~Mr
fallacious, and only tends to show the weadiefectory drew
fa which these amounts have been dim aid. Tie fed was
Met the ea-counts were i axplicable, saltwere leaddel lobs to,
eke bow could they place the latered eel iiiMOVAIX st
210,0001. one half-year, and the net the laded upon
en swoust of bywords of 100,0061. Ewe M 160,01 th
The the &resters said 1111011 mi d the
company may mew be considered to be . dosed, as
was explained very fully to the all 111111 i fililet•
Mg. The Mosnals for abet expeedithee thaw thee, wide
▪ of the oatmillag bathed have base paid thing the
balf-year the sues already meshed kr the sale of surplus
property, eel arr • potties of three fa ether coaradd,
have enewded she aged payadats br Meet WOW. Hs
held that the deslple feed tie eales ef lead, end what was
received from sans se
might le have beau
to the reduotka of Issas. Than wee • dear pelt
touching the bsh.ee brought over Arm bet half-per el
16 9001., which wool/ give • divides/ ef ht.
be. thought this wee ea wed is the pubis of the
se to the beads of the Modes, dad wVh thee
moved as en amendment that the mere ariditeeiMl6l be re-
ferred back to the ihreetenhedoeshathwthes sad
Mr. SAUNDSU (the derstery to odepoyleesitrille".llo
hos. popish, who bad derlbatell le lb* beard • ediosade-
mist of the mossuats awe molt Wm to say theathree IPSO
net the slighted ivaddies of any sod for sash •
The DM staid to their repeat the the asemisat per t
interest dadg the lest half pee was hem theta the prooshag
half-par. What bed that to do with Vas Mead the -eau.
=imbed ea lose, except that if the lean was goosed then
sad V ne hod boss geld in istareak It wag •
basalt to the eadjuity that they Mid have bed •
amount of lota, sad have add sleet addint of thlerethierC
truth we that to Sobel WM per ef 1001 Me
lead paid 210,1001. he a mad meat added kr
a greater =mod In the present MU yam. In I" a
lerdi amount of damsel had be pad on maporary at
high rates, sad it wed the three of the vim meithst that
W enabled the booed to have a Mid hen flee • lead
smat of items*. The whole of the Wired Sat the loaf
year was 'bergs* le the halt year.
Croat sad that sat only hed the amount of loans
berm but the average rate of the lams had be
biker illvinnue desk* the ite sad MI set allow
the media, to wpm% Mee the mYhaen sellers dam dot
the essenata woe the hided rad and Mr, ar that the Ida.
ton had introduced into the report • pangs* Itildik
ad strictly tree. The Ms of hewed we lall4 end
_„1••
amount of iatered wag Val Me, than la the imam w"
per. (Gkton)

I Ilya COURT essayed to speak agaiN bat wee latirrepted
• by arise of " spoke " from all sides. He repeated not only
that the menet of loess had increased, but that the rate of
interest had Increased.
Mr. SATIRDIRS remarked that the hon. proprietor ills-
puted the save( of 28,0001., and endeavoured to
_prove it by
going into the amounts of the last belf-yeer. BM It wee
stated by the theme, et the let half-yearly meeting, that a
system was being introduced for reducing the woebf g im-
passe, wkloh would tome into operation in the next half.
year. That system was now in operation, and if they com-
pered the expiaditure of the toitablishment for the
past half- with that of the Se half-year of 1857,
they End that they ware better otr by
28,4.201. in the Mentos of the expenditure between the two
half yews. It was trite that they had not that mach greeter
surplrnoc.betanse the rOTTRUI had Man of in • still greater
Pre He :sight add, that in the six months of 1858
they had worked more miles of railway than in the metes-
fecridieg period of 1861. The Sect, tete" of the saving
in the mein expenses ti tetabliehed beyond a doubt.
Then, as awarded the amount received from ether com-
patible, tbe ea. tweeister said if sheaf go m the Mienution
of ions. Pectioally it did. so. But if they advanced
money en stocks the rat m of that money should
go to the en of net is the mesigats. He might add
that nothing hed lee pried with mew par.
Mr. Rowans* wished—es it wee me la the report that
the aped sissent wee elf bat ciand—that a psehlve
mss-
lette ,hoed he pissed by the weeettegt expessimg the opinion
of the .sating that the repel meat absed he. ,elessd ena
in no cams reopened without the consent of the shanholdens.
Sir R. Jaws, In supporting Major Coat's propedtien,
expressed hie tepee, while everything else wee Im-
proves, that thismeenlikent property-0i vale, " WM&
don't pay")—was in a mats of bankruptcy. It was owkig to
melees expeditor% extravagant litigation, unwise wasps-
, thion, and the extravagance of the engineer—a man poi-
soning transcendent talent, but who had been the ruin
of every) 000/4/II with which he had been connected.
(Olbse
The embedment was ultimately put and negatived by as
overwhelming mrjority, only about six hands being held
is tie favour. The original motion was then put and e
by a comaiderable majority.
Mr. Gaza moved that the construction accounts of the
whole of the Great Western Railway system, including the
Shrewsbury lines, should Le telly died. and that no ex-
penditure on account of capital should be henceforward in-
curred except in respect to the payment of liabilities now ex-
isting without the consent of the proprietors being previously
obtained.
Mr. EDWARDS seconded the motion.

The ZitsiTimix—lftielien7;l;a7;holder means that the
directors should not enter upon any expensive works so as to
increase the cheese upon capita without the consent of
the shareholders, ran say at once that they have no inten-
tion of doing so. But I most, se I did in Febromy bet, put
one condition oa that statement—that is, that works of com-
paratively small Importance, entailinge, but a small expense,
and wkii may be necessary in order to maintain the trsfilo
of the company, must be left to the discretion of the board.
I can have no hesitation whatever in promising that no
works of any magnitude shall be undertaken, and that no
large expenditure on account of capital shall be incurred.
Mr. STUIOI could not leave the meeting without protesting
against the enhandsome observations which bad been made
mph= lib.
liftmeßrunel, the engineer, who was not present to
defied n. _

11;zor 'tiro as—Doss mot Mr. Brunei receive a salary of
7601. a year?
TIN Cruannau-111r. Brunel receives a rimy se our
coneultlng nerrlsear, and ha performs all the duty that to
required of him At present he I. ill, but his staff performs
all that aseassary.
The Paoyarwroa —But you pay that staff.
Th. CHAILIAX—No ; the salary Includes the whole
Charge, as far es we are esaatened.
• •

Mire'r Beim (a director) expressed general ommurrecosin
the views of Mr. it as to the closing of the capital aocount,
but if they pegged a faecal resolution as proposed, they would
tie the hands of the directors and of the company tool f, so
that it would be impossible for them to carry out the reforms
referred to in what was celled the Walpole report.
The CHAIMAN thought It would be an unsatisfactory
mode of proceeding to pass such a resolution while there
were outstanding liabilities. The directors had no
wish to keep the capital account open longer than
was mammary, and he would suggest that the
meeting should be satisfied with the pledge he
had given, and which he now repeated, that no expenditure
of any memsut should he mooned during the half year
without the comment of the ahareholdcts, and that by Feb-
nary next they would propose a statement of all the liabili-
ties of the company, and taking a margin beyond, as was
done in 1860; and then, when the actual figures were before
them of what the capital account acttudly was, lithe share-
holders whiled it, the ffirretore would be prepared to close the
capital morsuat.
Mr. GILLS consented to accept this pledge, and withdrew
fhs rembitios.

The Cwarnstan then moved a "violation authorising
the direeters to doable the lute between Evershot and
the total expense of which he ssid would be 14,0001.
Mr. Alma moved that the 37,0001. should be applied to
tie promos of dividend.
Another Pnorzurron seconded the motion.
flarnslionu wan decidedly in favour of postponing the
dividwd
_ .

The CHAIRMAN add that the directors, after maturely
Mr=the question, had tams to the 0011ClUld011 that
by retebiag the Minos in heed, materially Im-
prove the financla paid= of the company. The debentures
would, during the sect half-year, be more readily taken up,
and st a lower rate of kismet, x they had this balance M
hand than if they bid not. The preference holders would
know that they were attain of their dividends, and, gene-
rally, the financial position of the company would be im-
prove&
The motion was ultimately withdrawn, and a vote of
thanks to the Chairmen =Waded the business of the
ressUsg.