The Express.
London, England, 1867-11-13 00:00:00

LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 13, 1867.

THE CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.

The fall in Caledonian Railway stock yesterday was
aggravated by news that the directors of this com-
pany have given notice of an intended application
to parliament in the coming session for the under-
mentioned purposes, viz. :—To authorise the aban-
donment of four branch lines sanctioned in ISGS—
the Banghohn junction, the Shielhill branch,
the Crieff connecting junction, and the Barrhead
and Paisley branch ; to extend the time for the
' compulsory purchase of lands and completion of
works of the Belem° and the Muirkirk branches ;
and to extend the time for the sale of surplus
lands on the Scottish North-Eastern and other
, lines ; also for power to purchase lands at various
places on the company's lines, and to hold shares'in
the Crieff and Methvin Junction Railway ; also
power to raise additional capital by the issue of
ordinary or preference shares for the completion of
certain works ; and to provide more rolling stock,
station, and other accommodation for the traffic.

Apart from the distrust naturally excited by the
vagueness of the statement here put forth with re-
gard to the amount and objects of the fresh capital
now admitted to be required, it is felt that the
adoption of this step at so critical a juncture of the
company's affairs is open to severe animadversion,
and is proportionately calculated alike to discou-
rage bone Jide holders, and to embolden operators
II for a fall. After the statements lately put forth
on behalf of the board at the recent meeting and
I
.
in other quarters, it is regarded as especially neces-
sary that an explanation should be given of the
!announcement that more rolling stock is required.
' The notification, as it now stands, must strengthen
,the objections of those who maintain that
' in the important item of repairs and renewals this
company has been guilty of signal shortcomings,
,
and that it has, in fact, systematically distributed
as dividends a large sum of money which ought to
Live been appropriated to repairing or absolutely
replacing old plant. The intimation that the
directors intend to " abandon " certain proposed
works, and to " extend the time" for the prosecution
' of others, would have been received with more satin-
' faction had it not been postponed till a time when
the suggestion of a change of system becomes
tantamount to a confession of pecuniary inability
to persevere in the old course. But, after the
, recent experience in the case of the Brighton Rail-
' way Company, chief alarm was yesterday occasioned
by the announcement that it is proposed to "raise
additional capital by the issue of ordinary or pre-
ference shares." Since 1839 the loans and prefer-
enco capital of the undertaking now styled the
ICaledonian Railway have been increased from less
than five-and-a-half millions to upwards of sixteen
imillions, while the amount of tho ordinary capital
is 4,734,0001. It is very questionable whether any
further addition can justly be made, for the pur-
poses named, to the preference capital, seeing that
any such increase must of course entail to a propor-
tionate extent a permanent over-riding of the
I rights of the ordinary stockholders--always the
worst used class of railway proprietors. Yet the
'situation of the company presents a choice of diffi-
culties, for, should it adopt the intrinsically sounder
course taken by the Brighton Railway Company,
land raise the funds required by allotting amongst
ithe existing proprietors a new issue of ordinary
' stock, the effect upon the price could hardly fail,
temporarily at least, to be severe. The position of
the Caledonian Company excites the more interest
because in these times it exercises an influence upon
the entire railway property of the kingdom.

TEE ROYAL BANK, LIVERPOOL.