The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-13 00:00:00

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN.

The hal -yearly meeting of this company was held yesten
day at the Waterlo e station, Captain Mangles in the chair.
Mr. CLARKE, the secretary, read the minutes of the last
half-yearly and subsequent special meetings, which were
confirmed. The report, an abstract of which has appeared
in "I he sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said it would not be necessary for h:m to detain them
for any great length of time in stating the few observa-
tions he had to make. In the first place, he was glad to
say they were no longer at war, that at least hostilities
had ceased, if they were not at peace with all the world.
No doubt the shareholders were entitled to all the divi-
dend earned from the working of the half-year, but he
was sorry to say the directors had great temptations to be
popular by squeezing out as much as they could to give a
good dividend. There was another course more praise-
worthy, which required a little consideration, but was not
so popular as giving large increases of dividend. Taking
advantage of the increase in their revenue during the past
half-year from exceptional causes, the directors thought it
right to pay off any exceptional expenses that occurred in
that halt-year. They thought it was the proper time to
write off the whole of the expenses attending the unfortu-
nate accident at Wimbledon, and to add £lO,OOO to the re-
newal account. It might be satisfactory to state that all
claims on account of accidents had been paid, and they were
now without any charge against them on that account He
thought that the shareholders would agree with him that it
was the proper course. He believed the increasing take
in the receipts of the current half-year justified them in
looking forward to a brighter future. With regard to the
state and position of the company, he mentioned that the
dividends for the past eight years, from 1855 to 1862 both
inclusive, had been at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum,
and taking 24 years back, from the opening of the railway,
the dividends averaged £5 ss. 11d. per cent. per annum. He
hoped that Providence would preserve them from such
accidents as that at Wimbledon in future, and that
they would not again be visited with those pains and
penalties under which they had all smarted. He travelled
very often on the line, and he thought the attention of the
officers to their duties was a great safeguard, and if their
trains were not so fast as others, he was sure their
line was a safe one for passengers ; and it was no doubt
their interest that it should be so. He then adverted to
items in the capital account, and stated that they had ex-
pended during the past half-year £371,741 on that account.
This was carefully expended in improving the value of their
property, and in adding to the facilities for conducting the
traffic. They had censtructed additional sidings, work-
shops, and other useful buildings for carrying on the busi-
ness of the company. They had expended on the original
line £62,422, of which £50,855 was for new works and
£6,000 tor land ; £36,961 in doubling the Southampton and
Dorchester line ; £4,209 in completing works on the Yeovil
and Exeter Railway. They had also expended £2,467 in
completing works on the Topsham Extension, and £2,756
on the Exeter Junction, for extending the narrow gauge to
li
St. David's station, so as to enable them to run through to
the Crediton line and so on to Bideford. They had expended
£15,025 in laying down an additional line on the North
Devon railway for narrow gauge carriages ; and also £3,605
on the Bideford Extension for a similar object. They had
expended£3l,ao for a new line toKingston-bridge; £2,506
for doubling a portion of the Yeovil and Exeter ; £4,284
on the Petersfield and Midhurst; £6,988 for the purchase
of shares in the Andover and Redbridge; and £22,040 for
shares in the Petersfield and Midhurst Railway They had
paid £5,669 for calls and interest on shares in the West
London Extension, which would be soon open for traffic,
£22,464 f,r additional working stock to work an ad-
ditional length of railway, and £117,000 to purchase the
steampacket property. Those and other items, after deduc-
tion of £30,632 for land sold, left a net expenditure on
capital account of £314,732 during the past half-year. There
was an item of £2,613 that had been eiarged to capital
out of £14,000 for Parliamentary expenses. That was
nothing that need alarm them. It was expended in op.
posing other companies, to protect the property of the share-
holders. The locomotive department was conduced in a
meat satisfactory manner, as they would perceive when he
told them that the additional expenditure of working the
traffic during the past half-year only amounted to 20 per
cent. of the additional earnings derived from increased
traffic. Tho additional receipts amounted to £lOO,OOO
during the past half-year. They had made a reduction 01
£13,000 in the renewal of permanent way account, and he
might mention that the renewals were carried on with great
care by Mr. Strapp, the engineer. The laying down of the
additional line for the formation of the narrow gauge on
the North Devon and Bidetord lines had been consi,ierably
delayer by the state of the weather. The instructions of
the directors had been to carry on that work with the
greatest expedition, and when it was completed they
would be able to run their trains through from
London to Barnstaple and Bideford. They had given notice
to the Board of Trade that the line was ready for inspection,
and they might therefore conclude that this work was near
completion. With regard to doubling the Salisbury and
Yeovil line, they were-taking measures to increase the exer-
tions in that respect, so that they would soon have the
whole of the long line from London to Bideford doubled
throughout. The report informed them that the directors
had settled amicable arrangements with the Great Western
Railway Company, and he took that opportunity of saying
that the South-Western were the last to go to war, and
they would be the last to break the peace that had been re-
amed. They had made the best arrangement they could ;
they did not get exactly what they wanted, but they had
agreed to assist each other in developing and promoting
traffic. As to the Andover and Redbridge, it was to bec,-„me
the property of the South-Western. With regard to the
Ringwood and Christchurch line of eight miles in length,
the Bishop's Waltham line of four miles in length, and the'
Sidmouth line, they had agreed to work them for 45 per
cent. of the receipts, subject to the approval of the share-
holders. They had ab 11 before Parliament for the amal-
gamation of the New Devon and Bideford Railways, in ac-
cordance with the terms sanctioned by the proprietors of
both companies. The directors reg., erred that several
schemes most injurious to the shareholders' property were
promoted in Parliament this session, and it would be the
duty of the directors to watch and oppose them in every
way they could. Two of these schemes had already expired
on standing orders.
The Hon. R. H. DUTTON, M.P., seconded the motion for
the adoption of the report.
principle to the item of £2,613
Mr. HELPS objected on
expended in opposing other companies in Parliament being
charged to capital. He contended that it should be placed
against revenue.
The CHAIRMAN said they had already charged £2,OOO"Kr
Parliamentary expenses to revenue, and it would be unfair
to charge the whole expenses of defending their property
in Parliament against revenue.
Mr. MICHELL expressed great satisfaction that amicable
relations with•the Great Western Comparty had been esta-
blished. He wished to know the expense of the last contest
in parliament for competing schemes between them and the