The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-14 00:00:00

SATURDAY

.ordinary stimulus to traffie: and in the next—as the au-
ditors of the company point out in their report, and as
the proprietors themselves determined by sVcial -1-'se-
lution yesterday—it would have been only fair that a
sum of 77,000/., which is charged
in the present aeon-
counts for repairs and rolling Stock, should harp been
spread over a longer period. As the fact stands,i t
income of a single half-year has sustained an
undue
°than de-
duction for purposes which belong rather to Caput,
to revenue. It is true that the charge,
"nee onceof the
paid, is for ever disposed of; but the "Ist
cinelanalf• oars
arrangement adopted will be that future , , Y
will present an appearance of comparative The
pros-
perity to which they will not be fully
entitled.
of the
present half-year is impoverished for the benefit
future, and the dividend is less than it fairly mightbea..
have been. Mr. Glyn was right in saying
thatw with the
gloom in the share market. The latter
counts of the company have nothing
peculiar to itself, and the depression of the last fewc dates
is the r, suit of one of them. Th.. 4 development t h
()tined
company goes on steadily. A decline may be r
for
here and there, hut the general result—allowirg
groat and manifest causes of disturbance—is satisfactorythat
and hopeful. And it is to be remembered, too,.
and
the company have closed their capital acaount,
cunt equently, nearly all the vast income which they..
the London and Nurth.\Vestern Company
lanasdooscillations
will henceforth derive from their traffic will be avail,
able fur the paynaent of di•Adends. In this r,eptcet
fortunate than their formidable neighbours, the Great.,
Western. Tee latter have not yet closed their capital
account, and they have still to look fur ward to considerable
additions to the total suns which, in one form or another,
will become a charge upon their dividend-Wing re-,
venue. But the resources of the company are elastic;
and the directors ale able to congratulate the share-
holders en the fact that the increased merchandiv
traffic during the last six months compensates for the
natural decline which has taken place in the passenger
are more
traffic, as compared with the corresponding period of
last year, in conscepienee of the withdrawal of the
stimulus afforded by
she Exhibition. The most impor-
tant topic, however, adverted to at the two meetings,
was the bold proposal for amalgamation which has been
made by the London and North- Western Directorate to
their groat rival. The views of the Euston-square board
on this subject are exceedingly simple, and they have
been very plainly expressed. They say, in effect:—
"We feel that it is useless to talk of agreements and
treaties as effectual or equitable modes of putting
an, iend to the disputes between the two com-
panies. The subjects of difference are so various,
and the points of collision are so many, that
harmony can never be expected so long as there is not
identity of interest. We propose, therefore, that the
two undertakings, vast and complicated as they are, even
separately, shall be amalgated, on fair terms, into one
company." At present the Great Western directors do
not assent to the principle of this plan. They put for-
ward a counter proposition, which assumes for
its basis
the possible efficiency of an alliance as distinguished from
an amalgamation. It appears probable, however, that
the Euston-square scheme may, at no distant date, be
adopted by the two companies; and, in that case, Parlia-
ment will be called upon to consider one of the most mo-
mentous questions which ever came before it in connexion
with the internal comunications of the country.
Both companies admit that they cannot expect any
such project to be sanctioned by the Legislature
except on the condition of some effective power of
supervision over their proceedings being placed in the
hands of the Government. The policy of granting or
withholding the consent of Parliament to the proposed
amalgamation would depend almost wholly on the re-
strictive concessions which the two companies might be
prepared to make—upon the evidence they could produce
as to the expediency of the measure on public grounds
—and upon the facilities and guarantees they could offer
for the efficient operation of the checks to which they
might consent to submit. It would be unreasonable to
say that the proposed junction of interests is utterly
inadmissible; but it is clear that amalgamations are
arrangements which ought not to be hastily authorised.
It will be for the two companies to prove that they have
both the will and the means to surround the formidable
powers which a union would give them with such sae
guards against abuse, that the advantages of the change
-
would be equally shared between the travellers on the
consolidated lines and the recidividends. Piebts of the consolidated
DAILY NEWS.—The reports of the Great Western
and North-Western Railway meetings disclose the im-
portant fact that a proposition has been unanimously
made by the North-Western to the Great Western
board for an amalgamation of the two companies; with
the further suggestion that "the Midland Company be
invited to concur in the arrangement generally in manner
and in terms to be settled with them." To this propo-
sition the Great Western has, it seems, given a very
cautious reply. First of all it says that the proposition
comes rather late to be really useful now that the Com-
panies have in their rivalries spent millions that an
union some years ago would have saved; next it is of
opinion that amalgamation is not the best manner of
settling present disputes and contests; thirdly, it doubts
whether Parliament would sanction such a junction;
fourthly, it argues that the money terms of amalgama-
tion cannot be fairly fixed until the traffic of its new
lines be tested; and, lastly, it has its fears whether ne-
gotiation on the subject may not damage its Parliamen-
tary case for legislative eanctioa to those Shrewsbury
arrangements, whereby it still hopes to reach
the Mersey and compete for the Liverpool traffic.
Into the struggles and rivalries of these two great
companies, or of any others,
enter, further than to describe the progress of their
competition. For to long as the supineness andthe
indifference of the great bulk of their proprietaries
who suffer most by them are, after all,
it is net our practice to
allow these wars to be originated and continued, they
who
damage
and the public, it is quite clear, is anything but
o_.
by rivalries that furnish it with greater ""w" ace
:jut
rnodation at cheaper rates. Railway directors are
mortals; and once fairly is a great contest their passions
become excited, their fears and apprehensions exagge-
rated,ie
and their plans of assault and defence grow
magnitude end costliness, until at last there seems betooeme
most to blame
damaged
no door open to accommodation and pc3",
but
whist
great scheme of this sore And thus it will
go "iieweird,
legislation on the subject of railways is all hap-
without plan, system, or principles; the two houses
same
hav-
ing no uniformity of action,
standing orders; so that while the Commons pals e I
it on
examination of its merits a Bill the Lords reject
some preliminary point of observance by its promoters.
It is this legislative uncertainty that gives en-
couragementre-
to railway contests. In the P
.t. (
sence of this cause, arising in Parliament i
and not even the
on full
self, we have never been disposed to blame
which,
railway directors too severely for that com
made
the railway system; and if the proposition now made
the
though it has reduced dividendr, has largely extended
by the North Western is only an evidence t f
goodln
board of that great line is tired and wearied of l
of rivalry, the beneficial results of which totlteesPapholl_n..
pos-
sible. limits, that proposition is p o
have certainly reached, if not
assed, their utmost 0
anys
sugary.
other light, and as a practical measure,
before it
one that requires the very gravest consideration
When
can possibly receive the sanction of the public.melittie
Government tried a few years ago to gain
t w s°
resisted
power over railway accouets, the attempt -66 public,
by the companies and disapproved of
by
the
e would
chiefly inceuse of the power any such interterenc
which
give to the Government over our railway system' which in its origin was purely popular; of the
dagger to
and of
effi-
cient service likely to be involved in that
Pil its being a breach of the conditions on which
possible
subscrip-
tions to railway a had been based. Now it it is, however,
is
quite the to create a great railway power unconnected
with Government
Go-
vernment, which is able almost to control the be
and Parliament as to railway policy, and shall
also able to domineer over the interests of the publie. Ands
i the first
in considering Mr. Glyn's proposition,
theotf that propo-
danger to be guarded against. In favour ~ _ to hear,
sition a class of arguments may be bro.uugseicbc:v
will be
which, pushed to their legitimate eteboL found to support a complete transfer of railway
Government.
manage-
ment to a central board, responsible to fnee, of
e „
These are the considerations of economy, Li peace,
system—the
centralised authority, end of uniformity of
petition, from
profits derivable from the absence
of"Ilitull rates, and
the opportunity thereby given of chargingbusiness with
from the possibility of carrying
"re all arguments
smaller rolling stocks. These, we say!
may b©
which, if applied to this proposed amalgamation,
urposes,
carried much further, and applied to
Russell desire.
than either Mr. Glyn or
lan
that may equally
They are a two-edged sword, 1
is wielded as
wound those by whose hands 2
the enemy. It is a popular helief, that
and any such
already too great a power over the
public; certainly greatly
amalgamation as that rosed
wouldus consider the posi-
tion that opinion. Fore i
- list
let us
they have a
of these threo companies. _
.twe millions paid•up capital of not less than I?*
money still ster-
ling,unex-
with further powers of raisingore constitute by far
hausted. Their union would therein—
its capital would
the greatest corporation yet known—its
d be far the most
be the largest—its proprietary
w
numerous—its field of operationwould be far the most
extensive—and the influence derivable from its expendi-
ture, its patronage, and its proprietary
enor-
mous. The number of miles of railroad in the actual
possession of this amalgamated corporation would bo
certainly upwards of 1,400; whilst the additional
•
mileage under their control would probably be other
of this mileage the public
400. Now, on a large part
has at present the advantage of
these companies, and competition would cease, and by.
pecuniary burthen would
its cessation a heavy additional
be imposed on society and on commerce. By their se-
n number of small lines
paration and distinct existence, _
independence. Unite
are able to maintain positions 0f
them, and the independence of these lines must fall;
common system. Then
they, too, will be absorbed in the com
each of these three great
lines has in one direction or another a rival company not
included
in this suggested
the whole force,
and i poser,
arrangement. Untie them,
will be brought to
and iefluenee of the three combined,ol _
incorporations, the
bear, to the destruction
h
public utility of
vlli° was recognised by the
Legislature in the statutes which give them legal
life- By such an Liala.t.,e '. Swansea and Holyhead to
mation the traffic of the
fd country from Plymouth an
Glasgow and Aberdeen would be placed in the hands of
t towns of England—Lon-
don, cornowny All the grea
Birmingham, Manchester,
don, Liverool, Bristol, come under its
Derby, Leicester,and Leeds—would,
a
e of the Eastern Counties,
monopoly.,
The independenc
of the Great Northern, the Yorkshire and Lancashire,
the York and Berwick, could not long be preserved...
be absorbed; until at
Gradually they would yield and last the Briars an arms of one huge irresistible All this incorpo-
ration would cover the face of the island.
three in-
volvescow-
net merely arraugements between.
in our system of
peting companies, but an entire change
railway policy;cannot be allowed
and that, it is clear,
to peas through Parliament merely as a
.private Bill.
It is a public measure, seeding at least public discussion.