The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-17 00:00:00

LONDON, TILBURY, AND SOUTHEND.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yeater-
terday at the London Tavern, Mr Anderson in the chair.
The report was taken as road.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
expressed his hope and desire that those feelings of dissatis-
faction that had existed among the proprietors had now
passed away, and that they might expect for the future that
harmony and goodwill would be established among them.
Nothing of importance had occurred since the last meeting.
Ho thought the proprietors had a right to be satisfied with
the increase of traffic from year to year, and he trusted it
would become still larger.
Mr GOSSEY complained of tho non-publication of the
traffic receipts. He wished to know from Mr Eley, ono of
the directors, who ho (Mr Gosset) considered was the re-
presentative of the shareholders on the Board, whether the
directors had exerted themselves to obtain those returns
from the lessees of the line, and whether the lessees had re-
fused to publish the traffic receipts. He wished to know
who was to blame for this matter. As the shareholders
were entitled to half the profits above 6 per cent., they had
a right to know whether the receipts were not in excess of
that amount. He wanted to know the amount of the in-
creased receipts to Gravesend and other matters.
Mr ELEY said a resolution of the Board was passed una-
nimously expressing an opinion that the wishes of the share-
holders with respect to the publication of the traffic returns
should be complied with. A copy of this resolution was sent
to the lessees and an answer had been received to the effect
that the lessees did not thing it essential to their interest to
publish the traffic receipts. (Shame.) The directors re-
quested the secretary to write again, and the answer was a
refusal. He had reason to believe that the judicious increase
in the fares to Gravesend had produced a corresponding in-
crease in the receipts. The ferry belonged exclusively to
the lessees, and the increase in the tolls of the ferry had
produced an increase in the gross receipts of £l,OOO, He was
not at all satisfied with the way in which the traffic on the
line was conducted.
Mr COPE, a director, said he considered he also repre-
sented the interests of the shareholders at the Board. He
regretted that some arrangement had not been come to with
the lessees respecting a permanent lease to the Great Eastern
and Blackwell Companies. He was not so sanguine of their
future prospects as some appeared to be, and thought, if a
desire had been shown on the part cf the shareholders to
come to terms with Mr Brassey when he made the offer of
41 per cent., that the lessees would have given them some-
thing more.
After some observations from Mr Moxosr, Mr PARSONS,
Mr ADAMS, Mr CORNET, and other proprietors as to the
equitable right of the shareholders to know the actual
amount of receipts and expenditures and to have the traffic
returns published weekly as formerly,
Mr TYREMAN, the solicitor, said there was no doubt they
had every right to have the weekly returns and every other
information they required with regard to the traffic.
The report was adopted, and a resolution, proposed by
Mr GOSSET, was passed unanimously to the effect that in
the opinion of the shareholders the lessees were not justified
in withholding the weekly traffic returns.
The proceedings then terminated.