The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-22 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

EXTENSIVE RAILWAY AMALGAMATION.
The York and North Midland, the York, Newcastle,
and Berwick, and the Leeds Northern Railway Boards
of Direction have agreed to terms of amalgamation, which
aro to be submitted to their respective proprietaries,
on tLe 2d November, at special meetings to be held si-
multaneously for that purpose. The conditions of this
amalgamation may be generally stated as follow :
lst.—A complete fusion of the three corporations into
one ; the shareholders of the respective companies be-
coming holders of distinct classes of shares in the united
company.
2nd,—The profits of the united company, that is, the
receipts after deducting the working expenses, to be di-
vided into three parts.-7 per cent. (and ultimately 93
per cent.) going to the Leeds class of shares, and 93 per
cent. (and ultimately 90 2-3 d per cent.) being divided, in
the proportion already explained, between the York
class and the Berwick class of shares.
31—The per centsgcs so apportioned are then to he
subject to the same charges, including debenture interest,
as the Leeds Northern, York and North Midland, and
York, Newcastle, and Berwick Companies, are separately
liable to at present, and the overplus will be the dividend
on each class of shares. Tho debenture debts of the
three companies will be consolidated into one, and be-
come the debt of the united company, the interest there-
on hating the same priority over all other claims which
it has at pruent ; but the preference share capital of
each company will only have a claim upon the per cent-
age of earnings appropriated to that company.
The first intention of these companies was to make a
traffic arrangement only, but it was soon found that the
most beneficial course for all parties would be to enter
into a permanent amalgamation.

HEREFORD, ROSS, AND GLOUCESTER.
The halt-yearly meeting of this company, adjourned
from August last, was held in Hereford yesterday, to
decide as to the policy of having one general station at
Hertford, for the three railways concentrating there,
viz., the Shrewsbury and Hereford, the Newport, Aber-
gavenny, and Hereford, and the Hereford, Ross, and
Gloucester. Mr. Booker, M,P., presided. A warm dis-
cussion ensued, which ended in the chairman moving
the confirmation of the directors' recommendation, that
there bo the one independent station selected by Mr.
Brunel. The motion was agreed to after a discussion,
and the meeting separated.

CHELTENHAM AND OXFORD UNION.
A meeting was held on Tuesday afternoon, at the
Town-hall, Cheltenham, "to consider and determine
upon what steps can be taken to obtain a direct railway
communication from Cheltenham to London old Oxford,
and to pass such resolutions thereon as may be deter-
mined on at the meeting." The chair was taken by Mr.
Russell, the high-bailiff. The discussion which took
place was animated, and the project of the proposed new
railway brought out under the auspices of the Oxford,
Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway Company, was
warmly supported. The town of Cheltenham, although
possessing two lines of railway—one on each guage—
is very inconveniently situated as regards the metro-
polis and the country eastward of the town. In 1847, an
Act of Parliament was passed—the Cheltenham and Ox-
ford Railway Act—for constructing a line of railway
between those two places on the broad gauge in con-
nexion with the Great Western Railway.—This line was
promoted by the Great Western Company, but its con-
struction has been deferred until the powers of the Act
have expired this year. This circumstance, and the fact
that the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Corn-
pauy are at this moment on the eve of opening their
line from Wolverhampton to Wolvercot, near Oxford,
and are, moreover, (by means of the London and Mid-
Western R ailway), seeking an independent access to the
metropolis, has materially altered the position of the pro-
moters of the original Cheltenham and Oxford Railway.
A new company has, therefore, been formed for con-
structing a line to connect the Oxford, Worcester,
and Wolverhampton Railway with Witney, Burford,
Northleach, and Cheltenham. It is contemplated here-
after to unite the Cheltenham and Oxford Union and
the London and Mid-Western Railways with the Ox-
ford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Railway—thus
forming one undertaking. The new line will be
about 34 miles in length, which is something less than
half the present distance by railway from Cheltenham to
Oxford, and will reduce the distance between London
and Cheltenham, by the London and Mid-Western by
23 miles. The line is proposed to be worked by the
Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton Company. A
contract is to be made with that company for the pay-
ment of a tollage for the use of the line, so adjusted as
to secure six per cent, per annum on the paid-up share
capital, without implicating the Oxford, Worcester, and
Wolverhampton Company in a guarantee. The Oxford
and Wolverhampton Company are to provide rolling
stock and plant, and arrangements are to be made by
the Oxford and Wolverhampton Company by which
direct access is to be afforded to the South-Western sta-
tion in London. The landowners along the line are
favourable to the undertaking, and the surveys made for
the old company are expected to be rendered in part
available for the new. After a somewhat lengthened
discussion, resolutions in favour of the undertaking were
adopted.