The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-06 00:00:00

NORTH DEVON.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held yester-
day, at the office, Gresham-house; Mr. %V. Tite, M.P., in
the chair.

Mr. Hauls, the secretary, read the report.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said that, as the line was now leased to the South-Western
Company, it was unnecessary to mention incidents that
were formerly interesting to them. A Bill which con-
tained a clause authorizing the amalgamation of the under-
taking with the South-Western Railway on the lst of
January next was submitted to the directors, but it was
subsequently stated that the date was inserted by mistake,
and it would be withdrawn. The directors of the North
Devon offered all sorts of terms—five or seven years—for the
amalgamation to commence ; but, as the South-Western had
power under the lease, they refused to fix any time for the
amalgamation to-take place, and consequently the directors
of the North Devon Company refused to accede to the clause
which left it in the option of the South-Western Company
alone to fix the period of amalgamation. He could not un-
derstand why the South-Western Company would not fix a
time for the amalgamation, because sooner or later an amal-
gamation would take place. The effect was to give the direc-
tors of the North Devon more trouble, and to put tne com-
pany to the expense of keeping up a separate establishment.
Since the lease had come into operation the South-Western
Company, from their superior credit,had reduced the interest
on loans, and hadpaid off at par £22,000 of the £30,000 guar-
anteed 6 per cent. stock of the North Devon, leaving £B,OOO,
for which the proprietors had agreed to take 5 per cent. in-
stead of 6 per cent.

Captain WAnnEx seconded the motion for the adoption
of the report, which was agreed to.
Dividends at the rate of £1 168, per cent. per annum were
declared on £245,415 consolidated stock; at the rate of 18s.
per cent, per annum on the £25,000 A stock ; and at the rate
of £3 12s. per cent. per annum on the £25,152 B stock.
The proceedings ooncluded wioh a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors.

BIDEFORD EXTENSION.
The half •yearly meeting of this company was held yes-
terday, at the office, Gresham-house, Old Broad-street .
W. Tite, M.P., in the chair.

' Mr. Chanter, the secretary, read the report, which stated
that the gross receipts from the London and South-Western
Railway Company for the half-year ending the 30th of June
last amounted to £1,172, of which, after payment of the in-
terest on the debenture debt and current expenses, there re-
mained £Bl6 for dividend, which, at the rate of 3 per cent.
per annum on the ordinary stock, would absorb £798, leav-
ing a balance of £lB.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
stated that a bill was promoted in the early part of the year
by the London and South Western Company for putting an
end to the Bideford Company, and merging it in their un-
dertaking; but before it went to a second reading they pro-
posad to withdraw the clause they had introduced fixing
January, 1864, as the time at which the decision should take
place, thus leaving it entirely discretional in the hands of
the South Western proprietors. This change was objected
to by the board, and in consequence all the clauses relating
to the amalgamation were withdrawn. They were in pre-
cisely the same position as the North Devon Company,
being leased to the South Western Company.
The report was unanimously adopted; a dividend at the
rate of 3 per cent. per annum was declared, payable forth-
with ; and the proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks
to the chairman and directors.

THAMES VALLEY.
Yesterday the half-yearly meeting of this
convened at the offices in Victoria-street, Westminster;
company
bwuats,
there not being a sufficient number of proprietors present to
constitute a quorum, it was adjourned. The report of thedirectors congratulated the proprietors that the difficulties
in the way of completing the railway and works, within the
share
had
of the company, had been overcome, and that
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on sucltil.ifeavloautblaell
untoe
oafeentract withtMesurs. J. Aird and
railway and works,
that the shareholders would receive the full 4 per cent.
tdermcoemapeleletifotnueodfeuthbet
dividend guaranteed by the London and South Western
Company on the share capital of the company. The con-
tractors were proceeding with the works vigorously, and
the directors fully expected that the line would be completed
and opened for traffic by the autumn of next year.
1 EDGWARE, HIGHGATE, AND LONDON.
The report of the directors states that notices hare been
h the Great Northern Railway
and Church-end, Finch.served for the purchase of the land between the junction
wit