The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-22 00:00:00

GREAT WESTERN RAIL WAY OF
CANADA.

HALF-YEARLY MEETING (THIS DAY).

The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the proprietors in
this undertaking was held this day at the London Tavern.
The chair was occupied by Mr. F. S. HEAD.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the directors'
report, referred to that document, which showed that the
receipts on capital account amounted during the last half-
year to £5,202 17s. 6d., making the total receipts, on the
31st of January, 1862, £5,218,300 6s. Od. The expenditure
amounted to £5,019,662 12s. 6d., including the
cost of renewing the wooden bridges in stone and
fresh jointing eight and a half miles, during the
last half-year, There were still remaining about 90 miles
to undergo the same operation, which will, in future, be
charged to capital, and the item of expenditure includes a
sum of £14,618 9s. 4d. The revenue account showed that
the gross receipts were £265,951 lls. 111, the working
expenses to £125,424 17s. 10d., leaving a balance of
/140,526 14s. ld., fr,m which had to be deducted for in-
terest on Government loans, and other charges £89,249 6s.
5d., leaving £53,277 7s. 4d. as a balance of the half year's
working, out of which it was proposed to pay a dividend of
3 per cent. per annum, the balance to be carried over to the
account being £14,054 6s. 6d. The account showed a
balance of £21,500 above the 'sum required for the
payment of the dividend; but the directors had
thought it prudent to write off ls. 3d. of the sum
of £22,000 owing to the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway.
The traffic was most satisfactory, the through traffic to the
east being enormous, while that to the west was not so
large, and the local traffic was in a very good state, but the
number of through passengers had been diminished by the
American war and other political causes. Various renewals
had been made at a reasonable rate, although it was in some
quarters thought that too large a Faun had been laid out
but the proprietors weld find—on comparing the sum paid
by the North-Western, the Great Northern, and the Lon-
don and South-Western—that that was not the case. With
respect to the Detroit and Milwat.kie line, he was of opinion
that it was a good investment, and that it was calculated
to be of the highest importance to the company in the way
of business. The directors asked the propriotors to give
them power to spend £lO,OOO in the construction of a short
branch line of railway of about 12 miles to the oil springs.
From recent circumstances it was evident that such an out-
lay could not but prove remunerative to the company. As
to the position of the company with the Commercial Bank
their legal advisers in Canada had informed them the Bank
had no case, and they hoped that no discussion would take
place on the question, as it could lead to no good
but most likely be productive of evil—the chair-
man then stated that the accounts of the Council
of Investigation had been paid in full. The
amount being £8,816. He had to ask the forbearance of
the meeting to arrangements under consideration with re-
spect to the Grand Trunk line. He trusted the meeting
would not at that time insist on a discussion of the subject,
but that they would place the greatek confidence in the
board of directors, resting satisfied with the assurance that
nothing would be finally agreed to until the shareholders
had had the opportunity of fully considering and deciding
upon the point.

Mr. HOYES seconded the adoption of the report.
Mr. H. SMITH asked if the details of the arrangements
with the Grand Trunk would be laid before the proprietors
some time before the shareholders were called upon to
assent or dissent to the proposal, in order that they might
come to the meeting familiar with the provisions of the
arrangements.
The CHAIRMAN said he would see that that was done.
Mr. CAMERON said if the union with the Grand Trunk
was carritd, it would be found that the shareholders of the
Great Western would be literally swamped.
A PROPRIETOR asked whether the bill in the Canadian
Legislature was for an amalgamation, or merely a traffic
arrangement.

The CHAIRMAN said it was not an amalgamation, but he
could not give the information required without telling the
whole of the arrangements.

Mr. M'EwEN said he had received from Canada a copy
of the bill of the proposed arrangement with the Grand
Trunk Railway, which had been presented to the Canadian
Parliament. He read extracts from the bill to show that
the nature of the agreement was an entire amalgamation.
The CHAIRMAN said the directors in England had not
yet received a copy of the bill.
Alderman DAKIN thought the shareholders ought not to
be left in the dark respecting the terms of the arrangement.
There was a bill before the Canadian Legislature, and the
directors ought to have given the shareholders every infor-
mation.

-------
Mr. BRAITH WAITE supported the courso taken by the
directors. _ _

Mr. JAMIESON moved that a copy of the bill should be
furnished tp every shareholder, and then a meeting called
to consider its provisions.

Mr. HARRISON seconded the proposition.

The CHAIRMAN said the provisions of the bill could give
no idea of the arrangement. The measure was simply one
in flowing pace tnrormatton, and when the time came nu
should defend the agreement, and he confidently expected
to receive the approval of the shareholders. If it should
be thought the directors had erred, then he would cheer-
fully consent to its being cast to the winds. The arrange-
ment must be considered as a whole and not in
parts, and in about six weeks he thought he should be in
a position to place the whole matter before the assembled
shareholders. He begged to remind the meeting that the
bill was merely a permissive one, and would be totally in-
operative without the consent of the shareholders.
Mr. CAMERON moved a resolution stating that the meet-
ing, having heard that day for the first time of the bill be-
fore the Canadian Legislature, strongly protests against it.
In accordance with the wish of several of the share-
holders the secretary read the provisions of the bill in ques-
tion, after which a number of questions relating to arrange-
ments about to be entered into, were put by several
speakers.
The CHAIRMAN repeated that which he had already
stated, namely, that, having entered upon the subject at the
present moment, at the proper time he should be in a posi-
tion to give the fullest information. .

Mr. HUGHES, the solicitor of the company, said the pro-
posed bill would require the consent of three-fourths of the
shareholders before it could be enacted.

Mr. CAMERON repeated unless the meeting protested
against the bill they would be swamped by the proxies of
shareholders who knew nothing about the matter.
Mr. JAMIESON thought the proprietors ought to be fur-
nished with a copy of the heads and substance of the pro-
posed agreement of the bill three weeks before any special
meeting was called for the proprietors to give their decision
on the measure.

The CHAIRMAN then moved the reception and adoption
of the report,
Mr. CAMERON, as an amendment to the proposition,
moved that the report, excepting the paragraph relating to
the agreement between the directors of the Grand Trunk
Company, and the paragraph as to the sum of £8,219 3s. 7d.
advanced for the Port Huron and blilwaukie Railway, be
adopted.
The CHAIRMAN said the amendment amounted to a vote
of want of confidence in the directors.
After some discussion, the CHAIRMAN put the resolution,
with the understanding that it was not intended to affect
anything the directors had already done.
The amendment was carried, and the dividend was made
payable on the 3d June.
A resolution authorising the directors to construct the
railway to the oil spring, at a cost of £lO,OOO, was also
agreed to.
A vote of thanks to the chairman brought the proceedings
to a close.