The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-02-27 00:00:00

REPORT

Since your directors last addressed you, Mr. Dargan's claim
for extra work, under his original contract, has been certified
by Mr. Godwin at the sum of £1,680, which brings all the
company's liabilities to a specific arrangement, except about
£4OO of undecided claims, and Mr. Wallace's bill of costs,
which remains still unrendercd. Tho hind at Warrenpoint
has been carefully valued, and your directors hope
no distant day

now, at
into Mire

to bring its proceeds
most friendly dispo-

operation

siti on continues to prevail between your di rectors
and the Newry and Enniskillen board, so that no opportunity
will be lost of promoting any well considered measure for
mutual advantage. The working of the line has been most
economically -onducted.-24,318 miles have been run at an
expense of 81d. per mile, including all repairs, wages, coke,
&c. ; and, though a smaller amount of goods has been conveyed
than during Mr. Dorgan's lease, it is satisfactory to observe
that the receipts from that source are greater, at ver y
moderate rates, and that the number of passengers
continues steadily to increase. Your directors, therefore, refer
with gratification to the improved position of the revenue
account, chewing as it does a balance in favour of the share-

holders of £769 13s Id. This sum, it may bo added: is
available for dividend, but, keeping in view the continued
difficulty of borrowing money on debenture, your directors
consider it more expedient to retain such balance for the
present, at the credit of revenue account. Believing that the
present high value of money will not long continue, yonr
have abstained from any further issue of preference
lready issued shall be called in

directors

shares, and

til such shares

for registration, the interest will be paid half-yearly-30th
June and 31st December—on presentation of the scrip at the
Two directors, Messrs. Shand

Company'

and Heath, retire by rotation, and being eligible, offer
themselves for re-election. Another vacancy at the
board, caused by the resignation of Mr. Vandeleur, of
Leamington, has also to be filled up. One auditor, Mr.
Fitz Adam, also retires, but offers himself for re-election. During
the continuance of Mr. Dargan's lease, and the many difficulties
under which this undertaking laboured, your directors have
for many years refrained from making any charge for their
services, but they conceive that, since the return of the line
into the company's possession, their greater amount of duty
and responsibility entitle them to the consideration of the
For the same reason, the additional duties

hareholders

y, your directors have thought

t their duty to

ommend that ..is salary be increased to £75
FRANCIS SHA.ND, Chairman.

The Chairman said—Gentlemen, before moving the
adoption of the report and accounts you have now pre,
seated to you, I shall just make a few remarks, in the first
place regretting extremely that our Chairman, Mr. Shand,
is unavoidably detained in London upon business, as you
are aware, of very great importance to the community at
large. (Hear, hear.) It becomes my duty, therefore, to
supply his place as well as I can. The first paragraph
which meets us in the report is that Mr. Dargan's claim
has been certified by Mr. Godwin, at the sum of £1,680.
Gentlemen should be aware that Mr. Dargan put in a
claim for upwards of £4,300. His claim was referred to
the engineer, Mr. Godwin, and I am ,happy to say that it
was settled by Mr. Godwin's award for £1,680. Mr.
Dargan was in arrears with us £1,220, for the balance of
the sale of the rolling stock, which reduces the actual sum
which we have to pay him to about £4OO. Mr. Wallace's
bill of costs is the only outstanding account which remains
unsettled. Against that, gentlemen, you will observe
that we have a quantity of land at Warrenpoint and ad-
joining to it, which we have had carefully valued, and
which, I believe, will turn out to he of very consi-
derable value, so much so that I trust we shall
he enabled from that source to clear off all the liabilities I
have already adverted to. The report informs you that
" the most friendly disposition continues to prevail between
your directors and the Newry and Enniskillen I oard, so that
no opportunity will be lost of promoting any well-considered
measure for mutual advantage." lam very much gratified
in being able to say that we have the very best understand-
ing with our neighbours of the Newry and Enniskillen
board. (Hear,-hear.) We have had various communica•
tions with them as to the best mode of effecting a junction
between the two line', which we are all agreed is a very
desirable object indeed, but hitherto we have not quite
agreed upon the best mode of accomplishing it. The working
of the line has been most economically conducted, as you
will observe—l believe, indeed, et an almost unprecedented
low rate, and the manner in which our line has been worked
has resulted most admirably. Another feature with which
I was struck, gentlemen, is, that although we have actually
carried—in eoesequenea of not being able to make an agree-
ment with the Navigation Company for all their goods, and
they have in coasequence persisted in sending goods down
from Newry by water, at a very considerable expense to
themselves—instead of 2,600 tons which we carried the pre.
cedinc, half-year, dur: ig Mr Dargan's lease, only about
1,300 tons, or half the quantity, during the past half year,
yet we have actually an excess of revenue upon that half
quantity of tonnage, of about £42 upon the half year. From
this you will perceive that if the Navigation Company
should come to any equitable arrangement with us here-
after, we may fairly look to a very considerable
increase of revenue from goods alone. Then, again,
gentlemen, there is another source from whence I think, very
probably, a considerable goods traffic may arise. The
Belfast Junction company have at very heavy expense con-
structed a station for goods at what is called the Mullinglass
station for the purpose of working their goods traffic with
that station, which is very near to our line, being only
indeed about a mile and a half from it, and they propose
working the goods and passenger traffic by carts and
omnibuses down to our line. We may fairly count therefore
upon a very considerable increase from that source. Even,
however, with the present traffic, gentlemen, you will
observe the very gratifying feature, that the revenue account
Shows a balance in fa.voer of the shareholders, and consider-
ing the Short time we have had the line in our hands, and
the arrangements we had necessarily to make, all the details
of which were quite nave, f think this a very gratifying
featezre, compared even with the amount we received under
Mr. Dargae's lease. (hear, hear.) This turn, you will
observe, is clearly available for dividend, or rather belong:,
to the shareholders as clear profit obtained on revenue,
hut the directors recommend strongly to the shareholders
that instead of dividing that amount, as they are quite
entitledtode
market, allow
under the present circumstances
othrethre moneyevenue account' allow it to continue to the credit of
money is extremely dear
ItS:eanadll kirnowwethgaot
Y b d
into the markwnetesrheosut.ld huanvdeerettothpe to
asey considerably
money upon debenture
erably more than 6 per cent.
i
lcircumstances I think it would much
timeondthesttabeilitwhen the money y
of theconcern,
oeyb mandakt shallwroeuldinf beuse
note tend to e
a
h
low, if we wish then to borrow on
should retain this amount to the credit ofe debenture, that we
e,
I believe we will all agree that if peace be
account. e
established, we are likely to see money at much mote
moderate rates within the neyt six or twelve months, and
that we may then fairly expect to be allowed to borrow,
and to see our profits divided among the ehareboldeas.
Gentlemen will observe, meantime, tha t the position of the
railway, as regards liabilities, continues ;till to improve.
We have made a reduction upon our mortgage debt of
£BO7 10s 4d. On our bank debt we have made a reduction
of £1,344, as well as some smaller items in other accounts.
On the whole, gentlemen, I think we have a very fair
prospect that the traffic now on the line will gradually be
developed. I do not say that it will be developed to any