The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-07 00:00:00

I CALEDONIAN RAILWAY COMPANY.

Yesterday afternoon, the shareholders of the Caledonian
Railway Company met, by invitation, at the Clarendon
Rooms, South John street, for the purpose of considering
the position of the company in reference to the Edinburgh
and Glasgow Company, and the steps which should be taken
to bring about a pacific policy, and put a final stop to the

existing competition, which is alike injurious to both com-
panies. Shortly after two o'clock, Mr. Gillow was called to
the chair:

The Chairman opened the business of the meeting as
follows :—According to the purport of the advertisement
which has called us together to-day, we are met to consider
what steps should be taken to bring about it pacific policy,
and put a final stop to the existing ruinous competition be-
tween your company and its rival, the Edinburgh and Glas-
Until this be done, it is quite clear nothing Ike pros-
perity can accrue to either company. I think you will admit
with nee, that we have had fighting enough, and that it-is
now time to establish peade. That such will not be done
without your intervention is pretty clear, fot this week your
directors have reduced the fares on your line to 2s, first class,
and Is, second class, between Edinburgh and Glasgow. The
Edinburgh and Glasgow Compatty, in self-defence, must of
course do the same, and the result will, doubtless, be a heavy
loss to both companies while such insane work is carried
on; and as to dividends, if we are to have any, they must
be paid out of capital, as I fear they have been for the
last eighteen months, if revenue had been debited with
everything it ought to bear. I may mention one bargain
your directors have made, which such foolish competition
leads to, viz., that a firm who have ironworks at Coltness,
thirty-one miles from Edinburgh, paid the joint companies,
before the agreement was broken in 1854, 4s 4d per ton
for the conveyance of pig iron, and which your directors
are now carrying at 2s 2,1 per tons and under a contract for
five years. How many more agreenlents of a similar
character, under the pressure of competition, your direetors
have made, is best known to themselves. You will have
lately noticed that a joint working agreement has been
formed between the Scottish Central and the Edinburgh,
Perth, and Dundee Companies, and which is much ap-
proved ofi as likely to be most beneficial to both concerns.,
Why then should not such an agreement be formed be-
tween yodr company and the Edinburgh and Glasgow ?
You may rest assured that any other arrangement, than
than that of a joint working agreement, would not b: lasting
or beneficial to either company. I would suggest that com-
mittees of shareholders in both companies be appointed
to endeavour to arrange terms, and they might be
empowered to call in parties of high standing in railway
matters'to assist them. I will now refer to the proceedings
of the half yearly meeting held last September. Your
chairman, Mr. Johnston, stated that the dividend of three
per cent had been fairly earned. If that was correct, how
does it happen that a less dividend is spoken of for this—
the best half year? Let the plant be valued by a disinter-
ested engineer, and then you *ill see where your dividends
have come from for the last eighteen Months. A committee
of inquiry would solve this quest'on, and they woulel solve
another, namely, that with proper fares and rates, and
economy, the result of a joint working with the Edinburgh
and Glasgow, your line is capable of paying
five per cent, dividend within two years. At
the half yearly meeting referred to Mr. Brancker
and myself proposed, that before the raising of further
capital should be sanctioned, a committee of inquiry should
be appointed to examine into the affairs of the company.
We were outvoted, and in demanding a poll, I stated
distinctly`my object was simply that it might be recorded for
the information of absent proprietors, how feW shareholders
attended the half yearly meetings to vote their money away.
The state of the poll was as follows :—Against £10,250 of
stock hold by Mr. Hrancker anti myself, seventeen proprie-
tors recorded their names against us, and their united hold-
ings amounted to only £49,000 of stock. Now, after this,
was it fair to us and the absent proprietors that the directors
instead of giving the state of the poll, should insert in their
report, that " Messrs. Brancker and GilloW opposed the
motion, and polled the meeting, which, themselves excepted,
was unanimous in favour of the chairman's motion,"
wishing it, no doubt, to be believed that there was a full
meeting ? The directors did not record their votes; for,
if they had, we should have known the amount of their
holdings, which are believed to be small. I see, in the
notices of bills that are to come before parliament, there
are several to which the Caledonian is to subscribe capital I
Now, are you prepared to sink further capital in worthless
schemes ? If not, you must organise yourselves in time, or
such ruinous propositions will be carried, when the time
comes, by shareholders at the meeting holding £49,000 of
stock, and backed, if need be, by proxies, which many
shareholders are in the habit of signing and returning to the
directors, without considering at all the merits of the ques-
tion before them. If your directors be allowed to go on
unchecked in the policy thl have been pursuing, you will
very soon find the company again on the verge of bank-
ruetcy, from which it has so lately emerged ; and then you
will find out that, in neglecting to support energetically the
committee of shareholders that addressed you in April and
August last, you neglected your best interests. I attended the
meeting in September, 1854, held in London, and to my
utter disgust, the real interests of the company received no
attention. The discussion altogether tended to one object
only—a fight for place. I proposed the following resolu-
tion, hut it was drowned in the tumult of this party
squabble—" To avoid competition, it is resolved that the
directors of the Caledonian Company, communicate with
the directors of the Edinburgh and Glasgow for a renewal
of the agreements for one year, and, during that time,
endeavour to come to a permanent settlement of all dif-
ferences between the two companies." Had I succeeded in
getting that resolution passed and acted upon, we should
have had none of the disgraceful and ruinous competition
that ensued, and still exists as fierce as ever. Surely an
umpire could have been found to have settled fairly all
differences. Hail this been done, yonr dividend would have
gone on improving, and your stock, instead of being quoted
at 56, would probably have this day been at 80, and which
price you may with confidence look forward to its very

Shoal) attaining, if you will now insist upon a joint
working agreement being entered into. Clever they prove
themselves at such manoeuvres ; but is this the way that the
proprietary of £7,000,000 of property should be dealt
with by the parties whom they have entrusted to manage such
an important undertaking ? lastead of dealing with argu-
ments, the directors relied for their success in obtaining
proxies from the shareholders, by casting false insinuations
upon the parties who addressed you, telling you they had
foreign interests at heart, and would drive you to make
peace at any price. The following was in print before the
directors' circular was issued :—" If the directors should
concede a committee of inquiry, which several companies
have done at late meetings, we would suggest that the
gentlemen comprising it should be appointed, neither by
our party nor the directors, but in the following way :
The secretary should address a circular to two hund:ed
of the largest proprietors, inviting to meet at some
place most convenient to the majority of them :
and those who attend should fix upon the committee,
either from amongst themselves, or any of the other
shareholders. A commiiteo formed in this way
could not be said to be a partisan committee ; and hence
it would be satisfactory and fair to all parties." The chair-
man, or deputy chairman, I forget which, laboured hard to
prove that the interests of the Lancaster and Carlisle, and
Caledonian Companies were not identical, by the latter
having an east and west traffic. Now, how do matters stand
in regard to this ? The Caledonian line between Glasgow
and Caledonian is 105 miles long. Hence, if your directors
allow traffic to go from Glasgow to Edinburgh, on its way
to London, forty-eight miles over the Edinburgh and Glas-
gow, that, with a proper joint workinc' agreement with
that company, would be secured to the western