The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-25 00:00:00

THE SUN,

cheaper route, and. therefore, take a large portion of
the traffic which the company now had the benefit of
at one of their Dorchester stations, or a Salt bury.
The completion of this proposed central line would pre-
sent another through route between Exeter and London;
and it they were compelled to run at competing fares
with the present broad-gauge lines, they would then
suffer a further loss from the Dorchester line, or have to
reduce their fares. But it was right the proprietors
should know what the effect would be of a loss of traffic
upon the Dorchester line. He believed the proprietors
did not properly understand the working of the Dor-
chester line as well as those who had gone into the
details of the question. He had endeavoured to make
himself master of it, and would state the facts he had
ascertained. The Dorchester line was a single one of
60 miles extent, and he had taken some pains to see if
it could be worked more cheaply than it was at present.
He found that it could not, and that, if the traffic should
diminish, they could not work it with fewer trains or at
less cost. The gross earnings of the line were about
50,0001., and the working expenses about 25,0001. per
annum, so that at present the yearly net profit was say
25,0001.; but if the proposed central scheme and com-
petition robbed the Dorchester line of 10,0001. or 20,000/.
per annum, it was quite clear that to this extent the
stated advantages of the former lice had been overrated.
Some gentlemen who were clever at figures had made
it appear in the report presented to the meeting
that the Dorchester line brought 35,000/. per
annum on the Soutisempton line, and that the central
line would brine, 55,000/. por annum on to the line at
Salisbury. These were delusions. There was no doubt
yearly came on the
that traffic to the amount of 35,0001.
line at Southampton from the Dorchester. line; het he
would leave the shareholders to say how mach of this
would come on the line at Southampton even if the h
hear.) Why ad
no Dorchester line at all.—(Hear, y they
would get more than half this 35,000/., if the Dorchester
line was not in existence. A person living down the
Dorchester line paid, for example, his 2s. to Salisbury,
and his 18e. or 205. to London. The 20e. was put down
as due to the Dorchester line; whereas, in the majority
of cases, persons so circumstanced would come on the
line ae Southampton, whether they could get there by
rail or not. The same argument applied to the sum of
ee,ooo/. per annum, which it was assumed would from
the central line come upon their railway into Salisbury.
They had heard that the directors had had an interview
with the Great Western board—
(Hear)—the object of
the interview was to arrive at some equitable arrange-
ment for preventing unnecessary expenditure of capital
and for the interchange of traffic, in order to afford bet-
ter accommodation to the public, as well as to promote
the interests of the shareholders of the respective com-
panies. He stated to the Great Western directors what
the object of the board was. The meeting would see
Mr. Chaplin's letter stated that the Great Western
people were endeavouring to come down to Dorchester,
and were working on towards Salisbury. He (Mr.
Mortimer) urged these objections, and happening to sit
next to Mr. Russell, that gentleman tapped him on the
shoulder, saving, "If you have no further fear than that
I we are going to run in oppositien to you to Salisbury, I
(think you may be very quiet; for nothing on earth will
induce us to make the line from Warminster to Salis-
bury but a mandamus."—(Hear. hear.) It should be
observed, in reference to Mr. Chaplin's statement as to
the Great Western Company coming down to Salisbury,
that the latter company would, by their line, be 115
miles between London and Salisbury, whereas the South-
Western would be 80 miles only between the two points;
so that no sane man would think of going to Salisbury,
via Warminster, instead of by the way of Basingstoke
—(Hear, hear)—though he should like to impose on the
Great Western Company the obligation of completing
the line to Salisbury as a work required by the
country, and as beneficial to the South-Western pro-
prietors, as it would open the old road in the district.
He did not consider that they had any other grievance
to complain of to the Great Western directors, and
he at the time asked Mr. Harding (the South-Wes-
tern secretary) if there was any other, and he did not
say that there was. Reverting to the traffic of the
Dorchester line, he would Lay that he thought the
amount, in respect of the only places between which the
Great Western Company could compete with the South-
Western Company, had been over estimated. The
amount of that traffic was 10,0001. per annum only.—
(Hear, hear.) His proposition to the Great Western
people wee, that they should either work at equal fares
to points touched by both their lines, or that they should
divide the traffic; that, in feet, the two companies should
come to some understanding beneficial to themselves and
to the public. That was agreed to.—(Hear and
cheers.) The South-Western Company were to fix
their fares, and the Great Western directors were to
agree to them. At last they (the South-Western di-
rectors) were almost at a nonplus, for they could not
ask anything in reason that was not acceded to. He
then said to the Great Western directors that the coast
line from Dorchester to Exeter might be made by the
Great Western Company upon the broad gauge, in the
event of the South-Western shareholders throwing it
over ; and he (Mr. Mortimer) observed that if
the Great Western had two lines to Exeter
(viz , one via Bristol, and the other via the Wilts,
Somerset, and Weymouth line and Dorchester) they
would be induced to take passengers from Exeter to
Southampton by the way of Hangerford rather than by
Dorchester, thereby securing the largest amount of fares
to themselves, and giving the smallest amount to the
South-Western Company. The Great Western Direc-
tors admitted this would be unfair; but he (Ur. Morti-
mer) said he should wish a penalty imposed upon them
(the Great Western Comany) if such a practice were
adopted, and to that they also assented. Therefore hs
did not see what could be asked from the Great Western
directors that had not been asked, or that they could be
reasonably called upon to assent to anything to which
they had not already assented,—(Hear, hear.) For him-
self, he confessed he was almost ashamed to ask anything
more. The next thing he wished to bring before the
ehareholders were the motives and reasons which tee
directors gave for going into this scheme of competition.
Mr. Locke (the Member for lloaiton) told them at
the last meeting, two or three times, that the
landowners along the proposed line of railway
were being solicited on all sides by the Great
Western Company, and that if the South-Western
Company did not take it, the Great-Western Com-
pany would, and that that was the last time the line
would be offered to them. He (Mr. Mortimer) knew
at the time that the statement was not correct; but he
thought he was in honour bound at the time not to
contradict the honourable gentleman; but the next day
Mr. Locke came to the board, and repeated the state-
ment; and he (Mr. Mortimer) then went to Paddington
to know if he might make use of the information he
had received from them (the Great Western). They
gave their consent, and he would now lay the facts be-
fore them.—(Bear.) Mr. Locke had been before the
authorities of that company (the Great Western), not
once or twice, but repeatedly, and urged upon them
with all his eloquence the advantage which the proposed
central line would be to Great Western interests,
stating that it should be made on the broad gauge—
(Hear, hear)—but Mr. Locke now told the South-
Western shareholders he was most anxious they should
have the refusal of the line.—(Hear, hear.) But the
Great Western authorities told him separately and col-
lectively that they would have nothing whatever to
do with the scheme—(Hear, hear)—that it would
be a competing line, and that they could not
entertain the proposition made to them.—(Hear, hear.)
Another set of landowners besides those who supported
Mr. Locke had applied to the Great Western directors,
whose co-operation they wanted in the promotion of a
line from Basingstoke to Southampton to compete for
the packet traffic, but they refused to entertain the ques-
tion, saying that they had in 1845 entered into an
agreement with the South-Western Company for the
Purpose of preventing useless competition, and that if
the South-Western broke it, the injury resulting would
t South,:nava
rest on their heads. A further set of landowners had
been before the directors of the Great Western Company
--(Rear, hear, and laughter)—headed by some of the
what then;
Postern shareholders themselves—(Hear, hear,
and
bury—thatis
e")—the Rev. Mr. Blunt and others—and
wanted was a line from Basingstoke to Salis-
shareholders ,opey wanted to rob the South-Western
traffic of a line upon which the
company had el„tlie
ed
zarpended 300,0001.—(flear, hear.)
The shareholders
received a pamphlet in which
the
they were told that
mealrandowners were very power-
ful and very rich.—
knew enough of lando,whear, and laughter.) He
itl..vierelsys most anxious to dip
always bakward in to say that they
titling out money in rail-
ways, and at beta me time i
were
their hands into the pockets of the h
8 areholders.—(llear,
hear.) In these matters the shareholders were
the losers, but the case was very
different
generally
nears and contractors, (Heary had semeth. with engi-
) It wa mg to make
in these proceedings.—(a a misfortune to
the shareholders that they did not know what t they were
doing at the last meeting.--(Hear.) They ay_
po inte d a
a
1 committee, some of whom held 10 fhares only,
and who
were counsel—though of course un eed counsel....en
the
part of the promoters of the central line, There was no
doubt that the pamphlet to which he had referred ema-
nated from the same party, and the shareholders were
to bear in mind that there were many of the proprietors
locally situated who were so enxious the central line
should be made, that they would, no doubt, strain every
nerve to obtain it, even though the main line was
swamped thereby, and never paid another dividend.
Another thing which he desired to notice W 23 the fact
that those who, with ten shares, had been put upon
the committee, had been all along the course of the
proposed line—Sherborne, &c.—canvassing for proxies
in favour of the scheme. In fact, the proxies had been
get together by contractors and Parliamentary agents.—
(Hear.) Now, Mr. Chaplin had given his word to the
shareholders that nothing should induce him to go into
the extension scheme unless it had the calm considera-
tion and support of the shareholders—(Hear, hear)—
but in spite of this pledge the parties interested in car-
rying out the central scheme had exercised the whole of
their local influence; they had been aided by engineers,
contractors, and Parliamentary agents, and they had
e n canvassed thip very bankers of the company for
proxies
.—(i fear hear, and cries of "Oh.!") He did not
"Y the directors
thing had
themselves had been doing this, but the
rate, _
..a been done; and instead of having the delibe-
upohunthhia ssed opinions of the shareholders that day
1 swampee.eireP.,sed measures, the meeting would be
in support a
wPft?Xtes,—(ll-ar and ch-era.) The report
nut mad. °,1,e04 the proxies had bern rwieive,l was
the report washi." time teey were cent in—at that time
thing was, in feete:tatf)etere the shareholders—the whole
Lois and all other aree'—(Cheers.) It was a rule in
, r mews
except a shareholder, she y companies that no peeson,
prietors, and for eenieh , ald have a list of the
listpro-
a certain sum had to be
paid; but it so happened
received for such 9, list, and
no money had been
holders had been canvassed, and yet all the share-
a copy of the pamphlet he
had
to every one of them
forwarded, and he understood that referred to had been
servants had had something to do, one of their own
he known that proxies could be received
the matter. Had
he might have