The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-11 00:00:00

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held at
Stoke-upon-Trent yesterday. Mr T. Brodrick, the chair.
man, presided.

The report was taken as read.

The CHAIRMAN said the traffic on the line continued
steady, although; during the last few weeks, it had experi-
enced a check by the sudden depression which had come
over the iron trade of the district. The report of the engi-
neer showed that the line was gradually being renewed, and
contained the following important remark :—" The use 3f
steel rails has not escaped attention, they having been in
use on the company's line for about two years for points
and crossings; and, although the first cost, as compared
with iron, is very high, their adoption for such purposes,
according to our experience, is attended with considerable
economy. The present cost of steel is, however, such as to
preclude its general use for rails for the roadway." He (the
chairman) believed that though the application of steel rails
was in its infancy, it was susceptible of great development,
and at some future time, when the present prohibitory
prices had beon reduced by competition, to something like
reasonable limits, there could be little doubt that the mate-
rial would come into much more general use. He then
explained that the directors proposed to issue £lOO,OOO for
the construction of the Leek line, by preferential shares at
5 per cent, the amount being too small for allotment among
the shareholders. The financial condition of the company was
very satisfactory. The directors, with the consent of the
shareholders, had taken steps to prevent the Macclesfield,
Bollington, and Alarple line from being used in future as a
block line by any party hostile to the North Staffordshire.
That line having been passed, it would improve the commu-
nication between South Yorkshire and North Staffordshire,
open up a shorter route from Sheffield to the south-west,
and strengthen the independent position of this company.
The directors during the late session had also obtained
powers for constructing several lines of railway in the
Audley district, which was immensely rich in mineral
wealth, and would no doubt in a few years contain a large
iron-producing population. The chairman concluded by
moving the adoption of the report.

Mr GODDARD proposed as an amendment that that part
of the report which recommended the creation of £lOO,OOO
preferential stock be not approved.

The amendment was negatived by a large majority.
The report was adopted, and the dividend at the rate a
4 per cent. per annum was declared on the ordinary stock o
the company.

Lthe rate of 51 per cent. per annum for the past half.year ;
and also payment of the deferred warrants (No. 2 prefer-
ence shares) for dividend due on the 30th of June, 1863,
leaving a balance of £403 for next account, The Kinsale
Junction Railway had been worked for the past half year
with regularity and safety, and the West Cork Railway
works had progressed vigorously. About 15 miles of the
line had been completed between Bandon and Dunmanway,
leaving 21 miles of the first section now to finish, and it
was expected that it would shortly be opened for traffic,
which would be of considerable importance to the Cork
and Bandon Railway.
Naval and Military Intelligence,

The Duke of Somerset and the other Lords of the Admi-
salty are expected at Devonport to-day, They dine at
Mount Wi,e to-morrow with Port Admiral Sir Charles F.
Fremantle, K.C.8., and on Saturday hold a lev6e in the
office of Admiral Superintendent Thomas C . Symonds,
C.B, The number of receptions is limited to 30:
The screw steam storeship Fox,2, having embarked super-
numerary seamen, left Plymouth on Monday for Liverpool.
The screw steam sloop Racer, 11, with the gunboats
Wizard and Tyrian, left Plymouth on Tuesday for the
Mediterranean.
1 The mew steam corvette Clio, 22, was appointed to leave
Plymouth yesterday with the tugboat Turtle.
The Plymouth division of the Royal Marines, in three
battalions, were inspected in the Brickfield, ou Wednesday,
by Major-Gen. Stransham. Colonel Gascoigne, C. 8., the
Commandant, directed the movements of the brigade-drill,
and Col. Conolley put the men through the manual pla-
toon, and bayonet exercise. Tho progress of the division
appeared to be satisfactory to the Inspector-General.
The Terrible, 21, 800 horse power,
paddle-
wheel steamer in the ,British navy, fitting
largest
vy, fitting for the first divi-
sion of the steam reserve in the Medway, will, according to
an announcement received at Chatham, he commissioned
for service in the Mediterranean as soon as completed.
During the time she was in dock she was almost rebuilt,
and her engines and machinery taken out and thoroughly
repaired. Her lower masts have been put on board, and
every expedition is to be used in fitting and preparing her
fer commission.
The Tamar, screw troopship, Capt. Stirling, sailed from .
Portsmouth yesterday morning for Dublin, with the 69th
Regiment on board.
The Medical Director-General of the Navy, Dr A. Bryson
visited Chatham on Tuesday afternoon, and was occupied
some time in the inspection of Melville Hospital and the
other medical establishments of the port, it being his first
official visit since his appointment.
The patent compositions to prevent fouling, with which
the Recruit, 6, iron paddle-wheel, 160 horse power, now in
No. 2 dock, Sheerness, was recently coated, have been
scraped off for the purpose of testing the relative merits and
deciding the superiority of the patents. In The Sun of the
sth inst. it was reported in the naval intelligence that the
port side of the vessel was coated with Mr Hay's composi-
tion, the starboard aft with Mr Crispin's, while the star-
board forward bad a coating of Mr Wilson's; that it was
found on inspection that the port and starboard aft parts of
the vessel, to which Messrs. Hay's and Crispin's patents
had been applied, exhibited a considerably greater amount
of fouling than the starboard forward part, which had been
coated with Mr. Wilson's patent ; but that Mr Wilson's
composition showed mere corrosion of the bottom of the
vessel, which is of iron, than the other patents. The com-
positions having now been removed, it is evident that there
has also been considerable corrosive action going on under
both Mr Hay's and Mr Crispin's coating, and that the bar-
nacles have eaten through the composition, and have be-
come so closely fixed to the bottom of the vessel that on re-
moving theta the part to which they were attached, and
which had become corroded, was also removed. The result
is that if any there is less corrosion on the part covered by
Wilson's composition than on the parts coated with Messrs
Hay's and Crispin's compositions, and most decidedly con-
siderably less fouling.