The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-09-01 00:00:00

Expended on Warehouse. Office, and Sta. } 14,2.11 8 4
tion at Bridge Hand ..
„ Additional Worksat Stations,
Sidings, &c.
„ Rolling 5t0ck...........
„ Opposition to Dock Bill

3,111 10 10

15,997 14 5
661 4 4

4633,971 17 11

On the revenue account your directors congratulate you
on an increase of receipts, on the half-year, as compared
with the corresponding period of 1855, amounting, as
shown by the following statement, to £11,542 12s 91
Pass:ngers. Goods.

a. d.

Receipts for the half-year ended 30th}
30,582 7 8 32,432 4 7
June, 1856
Receipts foe the ha!f-year l £.'0,830 3 9
ended 30th June. 1855.. I
From wh,ch,to compatel
with the pres-nt half-year
must be deducted the
charges for Top, over the
L. an 1 N. W. line, and
lighterage on the G. W. 9,408 4 3
R. Co.'s g iods, the form r r
be ng now deducted in the
weekly sett'ement of ac-
count, and the later c
pany now p,oviding their
own I.ghtets, viz :
Nett traffic for June, 1855, 51,471 19 6or 28,124

2 4 23,343 17 2

-- -- --
1ncrea5e......... ,e 2.454 5 4 9,088 7 5

It, will be observed that out of the half-year's earnings
£2,500 have been placed to,a fund for renewals, which sum is
considered adequate for the period. In the last report the
shareholders were informed that the Great Western R iilway
Company had commenced to exercise their running powers,
for the conveyance of their goods traffic, over the Chester and
Birkenhead portion of your railway. Negotiations between
the companies, as to terms, having failed, the Great Western
gave the Birkenhead Company notice to refer the terms to
arbitration, in accordance with the act of parliament. The
award of the arbitrators was made on the 17th of June last,
and in the incomplete state of the dock works and facilities
for traffic at Birkenhead may he considered satisfactory ; and
may be briefly stated to be to the following effect, viz : a fair
tonnage rate according to class of goods, with rent of £5,000
per annum, for the use of that costly portion of your railway
from Grange-lane to Bridge-end. The award to extend over
a period of three years, from the 2nd February last. The
Liverpool corporation having made application to parliament
for powers to alter the original plans of the Birkenhead docks,
which proposed alterations appeared to your directors inimical
to your interests, they considered it their duty, in conjunction
with the Great Western Company to oppose such plans being
sanctioned by parliament. Your directors regretted the
necessity of opposing the Liverpool corporation in this
matter, but they are glad to believe, from communications
already made, plans will be agreed upon satisfactory to
the great interests concerned, which will carry out
the object this,
company has always had in view, in its
apiwtailllinbtoe
sgurebamt
ttetexdpentodiytounreforatthßeinroknevnehresaindn.
of Atheressohlaurteiocn
Stock; and a further resolution for the purpose of sanctioning
such a creation of Preference Stock as will take the place of
the amount of mortgage debt, already sanctioned by the
proprietors. The directors going out by rotation, are James
Bancroft, Esq., William Titherington, Esq,, John Rogeis,
Esq., and Henry Thomas Hops, Esq., who are eligible for
re-election, but Mr. Hope does not again offer himself. A
wish having been expressed that the number of the Directors
should be reduced, it will be for the shareholders to decide.
One of your auditors, James Tyrer, Esq., also retires by
rotation, but is eligible for re-election. The balance available
for dividend, as per annexed statement of accounts, amounts
to £22,028 Us, out of which your directors recommend a
dividend at the rate of 21 per cent, per annum, leaving a
balance of £462 19s 4d to be carried to next half-year's
accounts. WILLIAM AnwisoN, Chairman.

Engineer's Office, Birkenhead, 20th Aug., 1856.
To the Chairman and Directors of the _Birkenhead, Lan-
cashire, and Cheshire Junction Railway Company.
_ _

Gentlemen,—l have much satisfaction in stating that the
works and permanent way arc in good repair; the new ware-
house and offices, with the sidings, &e., at Bridge-end, are
now complete and in full operation. The rolling stock is also
in an efficient state of repair, with the exception of the engines,
which have been overworked, in consequence of the present
number being inadequate to the work; the necessary repairs
cannot be undertaken until others are supplied, for which
orders have been given, and the delivery of four will take
place at an early date i • an additional number beyond this will
be required to equip the line efficiently, and to conduct the
traffic with economy. The following stock has been added
during the half year :—Two passenger engines, six first and
ten third class carriages, and ninety-eight goods trucks, sixty
of which have been constructed at your own works.
GEORGE DOUGLAS.
The Chairman said the next business wood be, that he
sh tuld move the adoption 01 the report, but before doing
so, he begged to make a few observations upon the
accounts and the report in general. He should commence
with the capital account. The first item in the capital
account was 414,201 8s 4d, expended on the new ware-
house, offices, &e. That expenditure was a large amount,
but he was happy to say that the directors considered
that the money had been laid out well, that the works
were very suitable for carrying on the business of the
company, and that, whatever they were used for here-
after, they would always be a valuable property. The
next amount was 43,111 lOs 10d, for additional works at
stations, sidings, &o. He was glad to tell them, that that
outlay yielded an increase upon the rental of £2OB per
annum, besides the accommodation to the increased traffic
in coal and other matters. The next amount was £15,997
14s sd, for rolling stock, as explained in the engineer's
report. This included £6,913 16s 3d for new waggons--
not renewals for old ones, but an increased quantity,
which paid the Company very well. The difference be-
tween £15,997 14s 5d for the whole rolling stock lately
provided, and 46,913 16s 3d for the new waggons, would
leave 49,083 18s 2d, and that formed part of the £40,000
the proprietors granted at the last meeting to furnish the
line in a proper and efficient manner with rolling stock.
On the first of January, 1854, the company had twenty-
four engines only. During 1854, 1855, and the first half-
year of 1856, nine new ones were added, making thirty-
three. They had now on hand, too light for present work
and worn out, ten, which reduced the number of efficient
engines to twenty-three. During the present half-year
they had received and ordered eight, which would make
their efficient engines now thirty-one. The directors were
now going to ask the shareholders to allow there to order
three more, which would make the number thirty-four, a
number which the directors considered sufficient for
carrying on the business of the line, according to its
present traffic. He might mention, that six of the engines
now required heavy repairs. He did not think more than
£35,000 of the £40,000 granted for the rolling stock
would be required, and when they had allowed the direc-
tors to increase the number of engines to thirty-four, and
their carriage stock was competent for the work, some-
thing like an amount of 42,500 would be quite sufficient
to keep up its full value, and enable the engineer to have
time for having the repairs dono at the proper period, and
prevent them from being done at night, which was much
more expensive. The revenue account, he presumed,
would be considered satisfactory. It showed at increase
in the receipts from passenger traffic over the cor-
responding period of last year of .42,454 5s 4d,
and from goods of £9,088 7s sd, which, together,
would make 411,542 12s 91, or 22i per cent. The earn-
ings of the line, exclusive of the river tolls, and the
London and North Western tolls, for the corresponding
half year of 1855, was £51,471 16s 93. For the same
period of 1856, the amount was £63,034 95 6d. The expenses
on charges, also clear of river tolls and the London and
North Western tolls for 1855, was 432,941, against
that of 451,471 receipts; and, for the same period in
1856, the expenses taken precisely on the same date, were
433,223 upon 463,634 redeipts, or 64 per cent charges and
expenses in 1855, against 52 per cent in 1856. (Hear,
hear.) if any gentleman required any further information
in details regarding the accounts, in consequence of the
fact that some of them were kept differently from the
form in which they were kept last year, he should be very
happy to afford any explanation upon his part. The next
point to which he should allude, was the surplus land.
This question had been carefully gone over, and such lots
as they did not require for the company's purposes, had
been put up at market. Only one small lot had been
sold. The realisation of that would more than clear off
their expense account, and the £35,000 required for fur-
nishing their line with rolling stock. He thought it im-
pqrtant that members should keep this in mind. He had
now to allude to the consolidation of their share capital.
Upon that point he apprehended there would be no objec-
tion, although he understood that some of their friends
from the Stock Exchange could hardly say they
approved of it, As their shares were of three different
values, he thought it was important that they should be
put into stock, which would save trouble at th. nom -
and
—s,
and some expense, he believed, of tr....asters. With regard
to the mortgszt, (lett, Vile directors wished to ask the
permission of the shareholders to giving them the power
Of placing it oo perpetuity, at a rate of interest not
exceeding 4 per cent. This permission would only be
availed of When the moue.), market was easy, and when it
coull be done at a low rate. He would not himself
sanction it being done at any rate exceeding four per cent,
lie was glad to say that the company was, at present,
working upon amicable terms with all their neighbour
companies. There were still, however, some matters to
settle with the Great Western. The tolls for the use of
the Cheshire Junction company, was one of the items
which he thought it very likely they should be able to
conclude. In remarking upon that subject, he would
only say the directors kept in view, that it was their
duty, as well as their desire, to show no favour to any
company. (Hear, hear.) What they expected from all
was equal terms, and they should not, on any account, lend
themselves to one party or the other. The arbitration
I had been a very troublesome and expensive affair. The