The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-08 00:00:00

RAILWAY PASSENGERS' ASSURANCE.

The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at the
office, Broad street; Sir J. D. Paul in the chair.
The report stated that 9,488/. was the amount received
during the year 1854. The amount of compensation
paid during that year was 4,0481., including two fatal
cases, one of 5001. to the widow f a mail guard, killed
on the 19th of June last ; and another of 2001. to the
daughter of a poor woman who met with an accident
which caused her death, and having paid id. for an as.
surance ticket. The sum of 4211. was paid to seven
persons injured in the collision at Croydon on the 21st of
August ; and 4491. was paid to six persons injured by the
falling in of part of the Bramhope tunnel in September
last. The total compensation paid from the formation
of the company to the present time amounts to 16,2211.
The report was adopted, and the directors were autho-
rised to extend the operations of the company.

WESTERN OF FRANCE.

A general meeting of the shareholders of this com-
pany was held on Monday, March 5, in one of the large
rooms connected with the terminus in the Rue St.
Lazare, M. Rivet, the president, in the chair. In con-
sequence of the question of the amalgamation with the
Rouen, Havre, S. Germain, an]. other lines being about
be rought under consideration, the meeting was an
unusually numerous one. After the usual preliminaries
had been gone through, M. Coutin, the secretary, pro-
ceeded to read the report.
This document commences by giving an account
of the state of the works. The section from La
Loupe to Le Mans, a distance of SS kilometres (55
English miles), was opened on the Ist of June last,
and the expense will not exceed the original estimates.
The section from Le Mans to Laval was advancing,
though not altogether as rapidly as the Board could have
desired, in consequence of the supplies of rails not having
been delivered at the periods agreed on. The rails were,
however, laid on a distance of 35 kilom. (22 English
miles), and -every hope might In entertained that the

whole section would be opened on. or before the Ist of
July next. The whole line to Rennes would be opened
in the spring of 1856. With respect to the branch from
Le Nans to Mezidon, all the preliminary surveys were
terminated, and the ground purchased and paid for on a
great part of the line. The works were so far advanced
between Le Mans and Alene3n as to be ready to receive
the rails; they had been commenced between Alencon and
S4ez, and would be completed to Argentan towards the
end of the present year or the beginning of the next.
The forgemasters were at present sending in;their supplies
of rails, and orders had been given for the various arti-
cles of the stationary stack. The rolling-stock on the
Western line consisted at present of 50 locomotives ; 28
carriages, Ist class ; 10, mixed ; 50, 2d class ; 115,
class ; 27 luggage vans, 680 for goods or cattle ; 47
trucks ; and 123 others. In the course of the present
year 20 new locomotives and 200 goods waggons
would be deliverel The report then gives a❑ account
of the working during the past year. On the main-line
the augmentation In the receipts had been consider.
able, amounting to not less than 44 per cent., the prin-
cipal items of this increase being corn, cattle, and coals
from the North, the transports of this latter article hav-
ing more than doubled ; on the two Versailles lines,
however, there had been a falling off, partly in conse-
quence of the dearness of provisions, which allowed less
s,iura money for Sunday excursions, and partly, of the
opening of tho line to Auteuil, which took away a cer-
ta'n number of pa*:engers. The total of the

Receipts amounted to 8,063,744f. 16c,
And the expenses to 6, 232,105 f. 28c.
being a fraction more than 26f. 16e. per share. The
beard proposed to declare a dividend of 261. 15c_, which,
when the sf. already paid were deducted, would leave
a sum to be given at present of 21f. 15c. per share, to
be paid at the offices of the company from the 6th of
the present month. The dividend of 26f. 15e. was at
the rate of 9/ per cent.. on the paid-up capital. The last
part of the report refers to' the important question of
the amalgamation, now for nearly two years on the tapis,
and the arguments for and against that course of pro-
ceeding are set forth with great impartiality. The situa-
tion of the Western line was undoubtedly excellent, in-
agmuch as it had not to apprehend any competition
from river conveyance, from the ordinary roads, or from
coasting vessels, the sea being too great a distance
to do it much harm. But, in some other respects
it was.less fortunate, as on the right, on the left, and in
front, it was menaced by competition from other railway
lines. On the one hand was the Orleans network, and
on the other that of the amalgamated Norman lines. So
that the whole question for the Western Company to de-
cide was this—would it be better to remain in an iso-
lated position, or to form part of the amalgamated com-
pany just mentioned The danger of isolation between
two such powerful companies was too evident not to at
once create alarm; and in additions, the Government bad
insisted on having the line of Brittany of a length of
900 kilometres (562 i English miles) executed without
delay, either by the amalgamated company or some other.
The Western Company could scarcely hope to execute
alone so great a work, and, on the other hand, it could
not consent to allow a competing company to step in,
with the certainty of doing it injury. Under these cir-
cumstances, the Board conceived that it was fur the in-
terest of the Western Company to join the amalgama-
tion, and with it to execute the lines alluded to.
Out of . the 300,000 shares which the amalgamated
company was to possess, the Western Company would
obtain 70,000, or one for one ; and as thn_new lines
would be executed by means of bonds at fixed interest,
the dividend would be greater to the existing shares
than if a number of new shares were created,. The
report here enters into long calculations, based on the
receipts for 1854, of the various lines of the amalgamated
company, to show that the dividend to each the new
shares must be at least 40f. for the present year—a sum
infinitely superior to what the Western lines eauld attain
if acting by itself ; and this, without takinnto consi-
deration the revenue which would eventually accrue
from the new lines. The report terminates by expressing
a hope that the meeting would decide in favour of the
amalgamation.

The accounts were then approved of by the meeting,
the dividend of 26f. 15c. per share (minus the sf. already
paid) was agreed to ; and the question of the amalgama-
tion was passed by 1,063 votes to 35.
The proceedings then terminated.