The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-01 00:00:00

tile company. They expected an increase o
eoals. They expected a
from the iron trade. In fact, lie eei“..--, -
Birkenhead would become the depot for the iron trade
of the Mersey. They that trade as much as possioie. -
been taken up by the managers and the tl
the past half year, in arranging the of
company, and other intricate negociat'
hoped they had now got through all
difficulties, and should have a free
tions, in the improvement of the
his own view of the prospect-
' bad every thing to expect.
been considered a tnoe ' __ the Birkenhead
railway would become, if not o
largest, at least one of the most respect
country. (Hear, hear.) Indeed, he did not see the present moment they should be decried.
They were
he thought, in as good a position as any line could
Possibly be, with the exception of the smallness o
dividend, which he trusted would improve. As regarded
their position, they owed nobody anything, and
they
endeavoured to do their business in a more business likee
Manner, and should continue to do so. But ofccurs
Mita the attainment of the good object for which the
line was made, and such a large expenditure had been
ineurred,—the completion of the docks—they could not
expect the great things which were originally hoped for
in the foundation of the line. When the docks were
completed a great increase in the traffic must take place,
and much benefit be derived by the shareholders. As
regarded their position with other companies, he was
Very glad to say that although they had an arbitration
Pending with the Great Western Company, they were on
very friendly terms with them all. He did not kr
'bat there was the least thing to complain of '
"ape or way. They had been at'emptinir
Nvith the Great Western Company '
ntents, which they r'' -.
"
', MPany though'
atch they oth . oisposed to give.
an,
,el°linliany were now exercising its running, n powers,to pay
, e tolls which they were to be called ono
would be settled
ve arbitration.
referred, and
very; ryby soon thz
.11tPortant subject which toe.,
teferenee to the Liverpool corporate.
eetnPany considered it necessary to P.
POsition to defendthe rights and pri,ll,gt-d
on which
bead, _. . . _ , . the which were very considerable, an
i.i_ Y had spent a large
_atm of noney, and had,
tnerefore, prepared a petal ion, he would. not say
4ust-t was against the Liverpool corporation bill, for he
ed there would be no hostility whatever between
diem'e but the reverse. At the same time the directors
feel that they
i had something to defend, or which at
had o
!ny rate, they should be in a position to defend. They
dinbtained that end, and they were now in a position
efend their rights. As regarded the town dues. they
iiltnot think it ryas teir duty or their business at all to
erfer aline, therefore, as a body, they had not inter-
fered at
They might each have their own individual
°inions upon the subject, but as a body they did not
think it right to interfere. As regarded the rights and
Privileges of Birkenhead, he thought the question was
11 An°Pi very broad one, and if lie might be allowed to express
Itnion he thought the Liverpool corporation would
ee very short-sighted, unless they took advantage of
B'u,'_/erY privilege the Mersey could give them. He believed
o't,ere was deeper water at Birkenhead, and there were
thner advantages at Birkenhead which were not upon
e other side, and he, therefore, hoped the Liverpool
corporationco would look at things—not as they might interns them at present, not as if there were two
iterests, which from the short time that had elapsed
since the corporation made the purchase, they might,
Perhaps, still consider—but that they would look at
Pangs as they would be some ten years hence by antici-
,-,`"• lie thought it behoved the Liverpool corporation
1", deal with the subject in that manner, looking at it as
iliu_e_Y•probably would lock at it ten years hence ; and
il."1013 to the utmost every advantage which could possi-
aueiul
stbe obtained at Birkenhead. They should look upon the
(H On as if Liverpool and Birkenhead were one, and he
right no less a view than that would satisfy anyone.
deal.ar' bear.) The next question with which he had. to
refire not
not of so pleasant a character—it was with
to some unsettled accounts. They could not
expect him to give the particulars of them, because on
some
bal-:of them they expected to be able to receive some-
lyg in the pound, therefore it would be undesirable to
-,.7e them üblic ; but the whole amount included the
le-deriwal accountp of the permanent way, £14,848, and
Btll2-4"eloo accident account, £9,242, ,
ti ' °. Their loss upon the steam
.-..w unsettled, they took as loss, altho
t`Ontually, to have the money paid. NV,
directors
the amount was £35,970. Now, tha,
t°&rectors proposed, with the permission of the meeting,
Place to a " suspense account," taking it out of the
books
,_ altogether. On 11-lother side of the question they
nad
_., nearly £5,000 wising from premiums on shares andff
of niatters, which they could deal with as a set-o.
vtagainst the other; and they had also property which. it t 1(3 itnpessible to value perfectly at present, amounting
the lame
5 „,Asurn• They therefore proposed wiping off
bei 3-", ui as that property was realised, the propertyf
th-ng eurplus lands and other things not necessary. or
Also earrYlng on of the railway. There was another thing
rithne whi.eh it was important he should inform them.
ep • rolling stock of the company had never been
stock atPPed, and there had been never sufficient rolling
eh Provided. It was necessary, therefore, that they
en,,.nkl have an amount of money to provide the
en;"Pjny with proper working tools, and to procure
0., the engines and carriages fit for carrying
forth" n their business. A sum of £40,000 would he required
by at Purpose. The two sums
together would be covered
shams suPposed value of surplus land and can celled
heron", He thought if gentlemen would consider those
be
theneali -
ng, with the account in that way, they would
si,,, very free from charges of all kinds. They should
th-le NY have a certain div pay upo sh wch
j Y
haenuwerey of arf acquaintedidend with from theares firshi of t
the present year, a:to and
depreciation fund might
roliP; u 1 "ide not only for repairs but also for renewal of
alining stock and permanent way. He considered
that
Perietit a 44,000 a Year would keep the rolling stock and the
we,4—.nent way in
tor,oer. The past half year's working
tolling equal this—that they could keep their
th. g stock and permanent way in order, aud also pay
cecnZnareholders out of the half year's earnings, two per
teartorn
~ Ile confidently trusted and felt that they had
ri a corner, and that their accounts would from that
The in
,Prove. The traffic at present was improving.
thej had not for the last two or three weeks pnblished
orer traffic on account of their arbitration with the
ntneav,Western. If they did that they might shew a
and iltarger receipt, perhaps, tban they ought to sheer,
4th ‘uey, therefore, thought it desirable not to publish
inin order that they should not give any information
reeeea might be prejudicial to the company. The
t2olPts for the week ending February 17th, shewed
24th6 16s 7d increase. The increase for the week ending
pro'h ;of February was £95 18s 7d. The
the'r'etOre, had probably, noticed that during
enable ast half year the directors had been
The to make some reduction in the expenditure.
utol had some hope of going still further, by a different
',rue of working the traffic, which would commence
whf 8"71- They were ordering some new carriages,
ti , ch they had been obliged to do, and in the construe-
henof 'which they would effect a saving, as they would
le capable of carrying a great many snore passengers
class had hitherto been able to carry by the present
IllOtBB of carriage. The engineer considered that they
lid save a great deal of working expenses by this
'ansi and by mine. a different class of engines for pas-
Rerhnengr traffic, Which they intended to put in operation,
aps, upon the Ist April, for the purpose of working
the Birkenhead and Chester passenger traffic, starting
from each end hourly. If anything should induce persons
build upon the line between Chester and Birkenhead,
the directors intended to give them every opportunity
and facility, lie had great leasure in tellin the ro-
prietors, that as regarded the ors and sergvantspthe
directors had made considerable improvements. Some
time ago, he regretted to say, they bad an unfaithful
servant. He thought, in that respect, every change
they had made was for the benefit and advantage of the
would be
Company • and he now trusted that everything
conducted in an honest and proper manner, and he had
great faith and confidence that it would be so. As
,tkegarded the traffic manager, he should say, that although
they might be disappointed with the increased traffic of
,sue Past year, the manager had had a great amount of
"°Ol to get through, and he had got through it to the
satisfaction of the directors, and of all with whom he
ethe in contact. (Hear, hear.) He did not know that
:nere were any further observations which it w.s neces-
bap' fo. him to make, and he should, therefore, conclude
illevlng that the report and statement of accounts be
reeeived, confirmed, and adopted by the meeting.
fr. Darbishire seconded the resolution.
at Pickering asked how it was that their expenses
tai `le Chester station had increased, while those of the
m
de and North Western Company there had
creased
8 The Chairman replied that the accounts were kept
heacording to the business done, and if their expenses
it d increased while those of that company had decreased,
(%ens proof that they have done more business
FieLae.. than the London and North Western Company.
„,....a hear)
en''-., Webster wished to know what were the prospects
or .t7;nich the directors relied for a further development
courier trAic in connecti :n with Staffordshire and the
erntnY diveming south of Stockport ? also the source
iron, which') they expected the large quantities of
eonsi and the market to which it was intended to be
in oe,laed He wished those questions to be answered
ti_ beer
that he might test the soumlness of the expecte-
heuulged ih by the directors, but at the same time
th_sgged to congratulate his brother shareholders on
and
tplar4elad of peace among all noinpanies (hear, hear),
prosperous prospects of their line. Yew

traffic from

considerable increase of traffic
that

they were

'ere laying out plans to encourage

A good deal of time had I capital
r

tors du

ry and

of the I pur

vhy at

Hear, hear.)

t they were entitled to
rs did not feel

lesti(;n had t

f in a

dividends

with what

makinz t

zether

that as

eps as they

rectior

TRADE

rs Ind

arlev, 2

'ianies were placed on a more favourable basis than
... They were the only company unencumbered
wir h guarantees for other lines—the only one which had
not created preference capital, and which had so small
',mount of borrowed money in relation to the paid-up
(Hear, hear.)

Is also congratulated the meeting on the
wed prospects of the company, and the character of
ccounts which they had received, which were intel-
There was one matter, however, in

(nem, w.. ne regretted to see. They
to have a large expenditure on the capital
it, but he could not see how it was possible, after
expended something like £4OOO a mile on the
3f the line, they could now require £40,000 for that

There was no railway in the country which
ble lines of the I had expended that amount of money on the locomotive
the length of line over which they travelled—

Titherington :55 miles. You forget that we run
e London and North Western line to Manchester.

Mr:l‘l,lls'continued to say, that even in that case, they
were still in excess of any railway in the country, anti he
was, therefore, alarmed at the statement of the chairman,
that they were going to expend £40,000 for the purpose
in question. lie saw no prospect of an increase of traffic
to warrant such an expenditure, and furthermore he was
led to believe, from the returns before him, that they
were taking half their traffic at an absolute loss. lie
should like to know the rate of goods and tonnage,
carried from and to each side of the Mersey, for he
believed that whatever increase had taken place in
their traffic, had been swept away by the charges of the
Bridgewater trustees. He was informed, that the charge
le Bridgewater trustees was 2s the ton, but he
hat was a most extravagant

)f goods such a distant:

, which last year was put
), was this time valued at £55,000. He
)re wished to kuow if the land had been revalued,
Lad for the purposes of sale ?
The Chairman in reply said that it was impossible to
rake any better arrangement with the Bridgewater Trust
.t which at present existed ; and that whatever
?any paid for the transport of the goods across
they added to the ordinary charge. As they
ioats of their own, the arrangement was a matter
sity, and they had made the best they could.
kit their surplus land had not been reva-

surpi

lued, but the single lot which had been revalued, had been
found to have increased in price. Their surplus land was
now in the hands of a land agent at Birkenhead, who
would from time to time submit offers for purchase,
and if those offers were fair and reasonable the
company would at once accept them. (Hear, hear.)
With regard to the now estimated expense for rolling
stack, they should bear in mind that there never was
any rolling stock purchased for the Cheshire Junc-
tion line. He himself had been startled at the
amount when first placed before him, but on investigation
he found that it was absolutely necessary to the carrying
on of the business of the company.
Mr. Burley observed that they had resources in hand,
though not realised, from which the £40,000 would ulti-
mately be provided, and that, therefore, it would not be
the large expenditure on capital account which Mr. Mills
designated it.

Mr. Healey said he agreed:with Mr. Mills that the plant
aad cost more than that of other lines, but lie did not blame
the present board of direction for it. (Hear, hear.) He
strongly objected to their having any suspense account, or
the taking out of the capital account any sum of money
that had been placed there as a charge. He would rather
that the directors would say to the proprietors, " You
have divided £75,000 too much, and the question now is,
whether you will have it taken out of your future divi-
lends, or increase your capital account by that sum ?''
Hear, hear.) That really was the question to solve, and
---' therefore, determine
.whether they go without.
)r the next year or two, on debit the capital
had hitherto been improperly paid out of the

The Chairman replied that for himself he was quite
willing to adopt either course, but he thought that which
the Diretors suggested the best. There was no question
bur that the amounts ought to have been paid out of
e, bilt the truth was it could not have been so and
same time have paid dividend. They could not
sfer them to capital account, and the only
opea was the suspense account as recom-

Mills': How does the board propose to raise the

rman : In no other manner than under our

borrowing powers.
Mr. Bancroft observed that there could be no question
was an increasing of the capital account by £e75,000,
' the intermediate course of a suspense account could
'n reality alter the transaction. lie did not agree
(statement that reveuve had been paid in former
l-ould not have been paid, and that capital
Me to the amount stated. As to
"unts had been made up they

on reven

the

were one-sixth higher than the rates of the euziespUutlin4t,,
period of last year, and they were as high as the trade of
the district would bear.

The Chairman remarked that they would not require to
spend the £40,000 for probably twelve or eighteen months,
but it was thought advisable now to get permission for
the expenditure.
The report was then unanimously adopted.
Tao Chairmanlnuved that a;dividend for the half-year
ending the 31st December last, at the rate of 2 per cent,
per annnm be declared
Mr. Titt

gton seconded the motion, and declared
-Wend had been honestly earned he, as a
ald demand as a right the earnings of the
in the half-year. (Hear, hear.)
m was unanimously agreed to.
It was also resolved that the directors be empowered to
rrow £50,000 under the provisions of the company's acts
of Parliament ; and that they be authorised to take such
med advisab'e in regard to the bills

before parliaMent, which affected the company.
Mr. H. C. Beloe moved that the company be authorised
to open a suspense account, to be debited with the balance
of the Sutton accident and the rolling-way account, and
credited with the surplus land as sold, and the amount
realised as premiums on shares, and that the particulars
be laid before the shareholders at each half-yearly
meeting•.
Mr. Taunton seconded:the motion.

lett and Mr. Titherington, as members of the
,ssured the proprietors that they might be fully
the discharge of their duty towards the com-

pang, and that if time were given them they would place
it above all its difficulties. Mr. Titherington further
stated in illustration of their improving prospects, that
one plot of their land was valued the other day at £B,OOO
or £lO,OOO more than they had paid for it. (Hear hear.)
The motion was unanimously adopted.

Thanks were voted by acclamation to the chairman,
after which the meeting separated.

REPORT.-FRIDAY,

LIVERPOOL.
COTTON: In the commencement of the week an animated
feeling prevailed, the market was exceedingly firm, and
prices were rather higher ; during the last two days the
enquiry has slightly fallen off, and less buoyancy is ap-
parent at the improvement. For the middling and bf tter
qualities of American, prices are about 1-16 d per lb. higher,
whilst for the low middling and ordinary kinds, last week's
rates with difficulty obtained. Brazil and Egyptain in
improved request, and dearer. Surat firm, on the better,
and scarce and very dear, for the middling and common
qualifies. The weekly sales are reported 65,530 bales ;of
which 13,320 are on speculation, and 3,250 for export.

This week. Prices paidsCurrt. Prices.
Import Sales. Description. this week. Mid. Fair. Stocks.
--- ---- ---- ---
d. d. d. d.
728, 5 820 Sea Island - 7 to 34 12 334
' i 11720 Upland - -42 to 7 51
64 1258920
- • 6593 Mobile - - 5 to 61 5{ 61
14956 27230 New Orleans 4f to 70 el 62
3067 3260 Brazil --51 to 71 6i 62 58580
2551 2150 Egyptian --51 to 9i 6 64 34870
. 920 West India -
~ to ~1 5i 6i 1510
.. 12792 East India - 32 to 5
143 4 9-16 26210

394790

SUGAR : The demand continues to improve, and prices
have been paid to- day which could not previously have
been realised; the transactions comprise nearly 200 hhds
Plantation, chiefly Demerara from 358 to 375, including
grainy at 41s to 42s 3J, 200 bags yellow Dates at 37s 63,
8,500 mats Mauritius at 393 6d, and 130 cases, 700 bags
Bahia at 37s 31 per cwt. ; besides which 3,200 mats
damaged Mauritius were sold by auction with eunsideratile
competition at 353 t, 37 3d, and 350 bats Madras at 31
to 318 3d •

Runs : There is a beftrr (lempid, 150 puncheons Demo,
rara
OFFEE having IN ~.,,ed pi evions prices.
with all Of the Rio effered by auction, about 170 bags
faults sold at 283 6d to 293 6d per cwt.
TEA : The market is moderately firm, but not much
Jusiness passing.
RICE : 800 bags Necransie are reported at 10s, and 100
Ca. olina at 23s per cwt.
I TIME : 260 bags, but the price has not transpired.
Jug. : 'hat offered by auction did not find buyersby
,rivate, 800 bales have changed hands, the prices of which
lave not tra aired.

ConN : With a limited attendance of millers and dealerse
it our Corn Exchange this morning, the trade
ruled v
dull for wheat, at a decline of 2d per bushel, with onlyrya moderate amount of business passing. Flour was in slow
request, although offered is per sack and barrel below
Tuesday's currency. Barley quite neglected, and 2d per
bushel lower. Beans nominally unchanged. Oats and oat-
,: eal moved slowly at a reduction of ld per bushel on the
former, and 64 per load on the latter. Indian corn was
again freely offered, and few buyers appearing, prices gave
way Is per qr. Arrivals—lreland, 1,463 qrs wheat, 387
irs barley, 8 qrs malt, 3,773 qrs oats, 15 qrs beans, 1,616
tacks oatmeal, 1,151 sacks, 24 brls flour. Coastwise, 207
rs oa.s, 2 qrs beans. United States qrs 6.737 wheat, 4,310
.ian corn, 9,297 brls flour. Europe, &c., 80 qrs oats.
Egypt, 5,140 qrs wheat, 1,534 qrs beans. Total, 13,340
qrs wheat, 387 qrs barley, 8 qrs malt, 4,060 qrs oats, 1,551
rs beans, 4,310 qrs Indian c0rn,1,616 sacks oatmeal, 1,151
9,321 brls flour. Exports—Foreign parts, 14 qrs
-,125 qrs oats, 8 qrs pease, 32 sacks oatmeal. Ire-
nd, 278 qrs witest,lo qrs barley, 4,804 vs Indian corn,