The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-28 00:00:00

SoUTH.EASTERN RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)

The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors was
held at noon, at the Bridge-house Hotel, London-bridge ;
Mr. E. \V. T,:IN, M.P., in the chair. . . .

The report. which was issued some time ago, having been
taken an read,

The CHAIRMAN moved its adoption. He said he felt on I
that occasion under an unusual sense of responsibility, on
account of the difficulties of the last six months, through
which, however, they had passed successfully. At the last
fleeting he mated that it would require an increase of
7131. of traffic to enable them in the past half-year to pay
the saute rate of dividend as was paid in 1865. Instead of
paying the same rate of dividend they were only enabled to
pay 3 per cent. Instead of NU increase of 20,0001. there
had been a decrease of 10,0001.; and, on the other hand, the
working e x .en-ses and other charges exhibited an increase of
16.001., a Lich was owing partly to the blocking up of the
line with snow and partly to increased assessments. 43,000/.
was charged for interest on the unproductive works. Sonar
shareholders thought this unfair ; and, considering the
circumstance-a under which the Cannon-street station was
5,vi;r,n,...1,.it t
therei soic:e nrol
firs tot
month
besoma
the numberfouldationf that
si
pws-
sengera booked on the extension was only 46,000,
last month it was 162,000. (Hear, hear.) He had never
cotter des! his opinion that two or three years were re.
sin iresl for the development of the new extensions. If
this concern were his own, he would not have a
single shilling of interest on unproductive lines
carried forward—Omar, - but there were many Pr.-
prietora to whom an immediate return was a matter of i
importance. The directors bad taken a severe course with
regard to revenue, but it was a prudent course, and he was
glad that they slid not go further in that direction
on account of the interest of a large number of
proprietors. The traffic of that line had, of course.,
suffered from the depression of trade. It was em-
phatically a line for passenger traffic, and as traffic of that
chias was more sensitive and fluctuating than traffic in
goods and minerals, it was not surprising that there
had been a diminution. There had been a serious
falling off in the continental traffic. For the
first time in the history of this railway it had suffered
from a North American winter twice within about ten
days ; and the effect of that was in the month of Ja-
nuary a decrease of 6,8!51. ; added to which the extra ex-
perms arising from the same source caused a loss of not leas
than 20,0001. In the month. The cholera at Boulogne and
Calais caused a comparative reduction of receipts from
26,i Mi. to 16,000 J. The stations which had been so costly had
already shown satisfactory results. On the 18th Feb., 31,3-r•
passengers alighted at Charing-cross, Cannon-street, and
London-bridge station., and probably, therefore, from
62,000 to 63,000 were on that slay taken iu and out
of those stations. In his own opinion it would have
been better to delay the opening of Cannon-street station
until it was more complete. The number of trains daily ar-
riving at or departing from Cannon-street station
was 525. As regarded the effect of the extension of the
system on the general traffic, it had already increased
the traffic to Hastings by 6,0001. a year. He had
never supposed that the extensions were to
be viewed alone ; their importance arose from their
development and protection of the general system of the
company. As regarded the Paris Exhibition, he anticipated
a very large traffic and adequate arrangements had been
made. Arrangements had been made for booking pas-
senger% for Paris over 4,060 miles of English railway. The
second-class fare to and from Paris was to be 365., and
the return third-class fare 215.; and he thought that
those fares would enable almost every man who desired to
do so to see the forthcoming exhibition. (Cheers.) Allard
lug to the London, Chatham,and Dover Railway, he dwelt
on the injury done to the company by parliament in I
authorising the construction of that line. When the I
directors of the Brighton Company were contemplating a
reduction of fares, the South Eastern board remonstrated,
on the ground that it was unnecessary. Notwith-
standing this, the reduction was made ; but the
South Eastern directors resolved not to follow the ex-
, amide, and the result showed that that course was a wise
one, as they would have lost more by a reduction than they
had done by competition. As to the capital account,
14.1,5651. would close it. A bill was in parliament which
would, he hoped, relieve the company from the
difficulty of having temporary loans, and leave nothing
owing except in debentures. There was 1,070,0001.
of surplus property belonging to that company which
might be realiscal. Of that amount, 650,0001. might then
Ibe employed in constructing the new lines, leaving the
remainder to clear off temporary loans ; and when the
whole system was completed, the total amount
of capital would be 19,700,0001. He had hoped
that the London and Brighton Company and
the South Eastern Company might combine to work the
London and Chatham line in the interest of the public
and in the interest of railway companies, for it was
against the interest of the latter that the London and
Chatham line should remain poisoning the railway atmos-
phere. (Cheers.) As Lord Harris and his colleagues well
knew, he had expressed his readiness over and aver again
to sit down with them and see whether an end could
not be put to it's difficulties. (Cheers.) He now
turned with pleasure to the relations of that company
with the Brighton Company. As regarded the second line
to Brighton, he declined for some months to allow his
name to be placed on the board. He then told Mr.
Schuster that the question to be considered was whether
they should not look ahead, and not wait
till people were silly again and came in to
make a new line to Brighton, and possibly also
to Lover ; but Mr. Schuster did notooncurin his view. He
had had several most pleasant interviews with Mr.
I Northell Laurie, and the result was the agreement
scheduled in the report. (Cheers.) The boo. member
then referred to a recent correspondence referring to a
proposal of his own to Mr. Laurie, that there
should be a fusion of the net receiptsi of the
two companies resembling that effected, as be
said, with such eminent suocese, in the case of the
North Eastern Railway, and that something should at
the same time be done to secure a new Brighton line. He
I then alluded to a rumour on the Manchester Stock Ex-
change in December, that he had failed, and the punish-
' ment which he wished to inflict on the author. As
to his means, he hail, he said, accumulated not
a large fortune, but one sufficient for his wants.
He acquitted Mr. Grisewood, front whose office the tele-
gram came, of any participation in the statement or
report, which he believed was directed_ against him as
chairman of that company. The rumour had been traced
to a Mr. Hall, who could give no account of the matter,
except that he had heard it in the ring. What the ring
was he (the chairman) did not know, the only ring
of which he was aware being the prize-ring. (Laughter.)
He bad commenced an action against this Mr. Hall, and
in due course that action would be tried. He then re-
ferred to the bill of the company before parliament, by
which the right of voting is given to preference share-
holders, though only in the proportion of 2,000 f. of pre-
ference stock to 1,0001. of ordinary stock.
[The meeting was proceeding when our report left]