The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-10 00:00:00

SHROPSHIRE UNION.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
at Shrewsbury yesterday ; the Earl of Powis in the
chair.

The CHAIRMAN congratulated the shareholders
on the large dividend, which was consequent on that
of the London and North-Western Company. He
thought that was very much to be attributed to the
ability with which Mr. Moon, the chairman of
the latter company, had performed his responsible
and laborious duties, and particularly to the courage
and perseverance he had shown in discarding the old
traditions of railway animosity, and endeavouring
to establish a more harmonious and combined action
between the different companies whose systems are
interlaced with the London and North-Western lines.

The vacancy in the Board, caused by the death of
Mr. R. Barrow, had been filled up by the election
of Mr. R. Moon.

The report was adopted, and a dividend at the
rate of £3 10s. per annum was declared.

The retiring directors were re-elected, and also
the retiring auditor.

SCOTTISH NORTH-EASTERN.

The report of the directors states that £139,010
had been received, and £63,370 expended, leaving
a balance of £75,640, of which £45,006 was appro-
priated to the Aberdeen section, £19,288 to the
Scottish Midland, and £11,346 to the Dundee and
Arbroath section. After paying the preference
charges in each case, the dividend recommended on
the Aberdeen original stock was at the rate of 1/
per cent. per annum, leaving £1,095 ; on the Scot-
tish Midland ordinary stock, at the rate of 5i per
cent. per annum, leaving a balance of £704 ; and on
the Dundee and Arbroath original stock, at the rate
of n per cent. per annum, leaving a balance of
£1,446 at the credit of the reserve fund. The ex-
penditure on capital account for the six months
amounted to £32,750, including £10,697 on the
purchase of property for the Denburn Valley hue,
£1,036 for additions to workshops and tools, and
£8,965 for additional plant to accommodate the in-
creasing traffic. 'The directors had succeeded in
coming to a satisfactory arrangement with the
Great North of Scotland Company in regard to the
proposed joint station at Aberdeen.

BAHIA AND SAN FRANCISCO (LIMITED).
The committee of shareholder-, appointed at the
general meeting of this company on Oct. 28 to con-
fer with the directors on the present position and
future prospects of the company have just issued
their report. It states that the Imperial Government
guarantees 5 per cent., and the Provincial Govern-
ment 2 per cent. interest on the capital for 90 years'
from the incorporation of the company on the 26th
of January, 1858, for a railway from Bahia to
Joazeiros, on the river San Francisco. But in the
first instance the guarantee is limited to 20 leagues'
distance (77 miles), and to £1,800,000 capital. The
Government fixed the price of the concession, in-
cluding preliminary expenses, at £41,000. The re-
munerationroutefixed
ofby
thethe
railway
concession.auwaya s
The
of the directors at £3,000 per annum
during
n
construction
selecting
w was
the
intrusted to Mr. C. Vignoles, the course of the line
task sk of
not being indicated in the convention, and the Im-
perial Government acceded to all the recommenda-
tions in his report. The execution of the
works was
intrusted to Mr. J. Watson, who had vi sited Bahia
personally to make himself acquainted with the COW,-
try and works to be executed. There was no compe-
tition for the contract. The line was opened in sec-
tions on the 28th of June, 1860, 11i- miles; on the 6th
September, 1861, 24+ miles ; on the 4th of August,
1862, 111 miles ; and on the 31st of January, 1863,
29i miles. The railway is a single line, with
sidings, sft. Sin. gauge. The station for Bahia
is situated at Calcada, near the water, but at a dis-
tance of two or three miles from the city. Proceed-
ing from Calcada the line skirts the eastern coast of
the bay for 15 miles. It then strikes into a district
of the interior, thinly populated, not a town on the
line, and but two places which deserve the name of
villages. The railway passes the town of Alagoinhas
at 1 miles distance, and terminates 4 miles beyond
it. There are several steep inclines, and some sharp
curves on the line; The capital expended is £1,795,369,
leaving a balance of 14,640. The gross income for the
year 1864 was £23,723,the gross expenditure £49,408,
and the deficiency £25,685, to which is added
£2,543 for charges in London, making the gross de-
ficiency £28,228. The receipts per train mile were
7s. 10c1. and the expenses 17s. Id. per train mile.
The gross maintenance of way was £21,866, and
per mile £284. The tariff for goods and passengers
was, during 1864, in all cases 25 per cent, lower
than the charges by the contractor in the previous
year 1863, when the gross receipts were £25,327,
being £2,027 more than in 1864. The committee
think that the speed of the trains might be dimi-
nished without prejudice to the receipts, and with a
saving of expense in working. The present rate of
running is 21 miles per hour. If, instead of this,
15 miles per hour was adopted, the article of fuel,
the flanges of the wheels, and the permanent way
would all have the benefit of the change. Next to
the want of an industrial population is the want of
lateral roads connected with the railway. In con-
clusion the committee, Messrs. C. Nicholson, chair-
man, J. Morgan, H. J. A. Goez, and G. Simpson,
recommended that the directors should seek to im-
prove the future prospects of the company by a
discreet application of the following measures or
some of them :-1, To memorialise the Government
for some favourable concession, so that the promised
" guarantee" may be fully realised ; sanctioning
further capital for permanent sleepers, more espe-
cially if iron be adopted ; or allowing the cost of
sleepers to be spread over future years; 2, to increase
the net revenue by working at lower speeds, by
raising the tariff, by closing unprofitable stations,
and by converting same first-class into com-
posite carriage ; and 3, to obtain the opinion of an
independent engineer on the question of sleepers
and fences, to insure all the property of the company
against casualties by fire. They state that the Bra-
zilian Government has uniformly, in this and all
similar cases, displayed such honourable and liberal
conduct that reasonable hopes of assistance may be

justly entertained. That this hope is further strength-
ened by the fact that Government has officially ex-
pressed its readiness to extend its guarantee on
£30,000, beyond the £1,800,000 for double-headed
rails, which further guarantee was only set aside be-
cause Mr. Vignoles preferred a rail of a different
kind. As to the costs of working, these were in pro-
cess of reduction by the officers of the company•
The further measures of economy, as indicated above,
may be applied; and if applied, the just expectations
of the shareholders will speedily be realised.