The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-17 00:00:00

ROYAL MAIL STEAM.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
yesterday at the London Tavern, Captain Mangles
in the chair.

The report was taken as mad. The working
account for the year 1861 showed that £269,243
had been received for the Government contract,
£210,208 for freight, £302,200 for passage money,
and £21,521 for hire of the Avon and Parana—
making together £803,172, The expenditure
amounted to £527,594, leaving a surplus of
£275,578. To this sum was added £1,451, the
balance from the preceding half-Tear, making
£277,029. Out of this was deducted £l,OOO for the
oofffipereerms'
iassessu
nanLee f
London
at, £4,u2tBhia
mw
prittotne
andoff tthheevcaolluoe.
colo-
nies, £27,148 to meet Joss on ships sold, £84,552
written off value of ships for deterioration,XB4,ss2
placed to credit of repair and renewal account, £154
balance of interest, £30,000 for dividend declared
on the 23d of October last—total £231,690; leaving
a balance in favour of the company of £45,339.
The repair and renewal account Showed a

balance in favour of the company of £6,320, the
general reserve fund a balance of £4,829, and the
insurance account a balance of £207,313 also:in
favour of the company.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report and statement of accounts, said that at for-
mer meetings it had happened they had to refer to
a number of items being in excess of those of
the previous year, but on the present occasion
there was no necessity for adopting that course ;
and so far as the working account was concerned,
he had to state that the whole of the disbursements
were £5,000 less than in the previous year, while
the receipts were about £30,000 more. The direc-
tors had appropriated 1 per cent. in addition to the
usual allowance for the repair and renewal account,
as they had done on a former occasion. The in-
crease in the age of their ships rendered that course
advisable, and he might mention that, in spite
of the large sums already set apart for
deterioration, the value of the old ships
stood at a larger figure in the accounts
than the directors liked. In past years a debit
stood against the repair and renewal account, and
in 1858 it amounted to £40,000; but that debit had
since been entirely written off, and they had nowia
credit of £6,300 to that account. Their large iron
ships had not :yet arrived at that age when they
would require considirable overhauling. During
the present year they would have five ships to re-
pair,—namely, the Clyde, the Conway, the Tamar,
the Tyne, and the Thames. They would, there-
fore, not object to the appropriation of 1 per cent.
additional for the purpose he had mentioned. By
the sale of the Dee and the Parana, the amount
would stand as much to the debit of the account as
it did now to the credit. Looking to the fact that
they would soon be in treaty with the. Government
for a renewal of the contract, the directors recom-
mended that the surplus in hand should not be in-
terfered with. With regard to the assurance fund,
towards which they subscribed £l,OOO a-year, he
mentioned that 213 per sons in their employ
had assured for £30,000, and they would thus
see it had done some good. The report adverted
with satisfaction to the feet that on a recent
occasion the directors had been enabled,
without delay, to place two of the company's
steamers at the disposal of the Government to con-
vey troops to Canada. In his humble opinion, see-
ing that the Government could obtain, under their
present contract, ships of such a class from the com-
pany that gave general satisfaction for the expedi-
tious conveyance of troops, and that they could dis-
charge those ships when they pleased, he did not
believe they could dispense with so important a
service. The importance of British Columbia was
increasing every day, and they were benefiting
largely by the traffic to that country. The directors
were quite alive to the advantage of increasing the
popularity of the line via Panama, of which a con-
siderable number of passengers had availed them-
selves. They hoped the Government would look
at the necessity of subsidizing a Ens direct by
Panama to British Columbia rather than by
way of California, which was an American set-
tlement. He believed very little was known
of what subsidized steamers did for the coun-
try. It had been asked by a shareholder how
it was that, out of so large a surplus as
£275,000, so small and so miserable a dividend
should be doled out to them. He believed there was
nothing more popular with shareholders than a
bonus, but it was most desirable at this time for
them to forego the popularity and to have as large
a reserve es possible in hand. He did not wonder
that,they should wish a larger return, but when it
was considered what all steam companies had to do,
and the unavoidable expenses they had to incur in
keeping up their fleet, they must admit that the
determination of the directors was a wise and pru-
dent one. The company had only divided 6 per
cent, on their shares, which were now under par,
and he thought no one could say that 6 per cent.
was a large dividend for such an undertaking.
The folly of yielding the command of the
seas to the French, he thought, would not be
adopted for the purpose of withholding the sub-
sidy from the Royal Mail Company. The French
Government had made contracts for 20 years to
run steamers from a French port to Brazil, with
a subsidy equivalent to 12s. 3d. per mile run ; also
one to run steamers to the West Indies, with a
subsidy equal to 15s. 6d. per mile run ; and another
to Mexico, calling at Cuba, with a subsidy at the
rate of 21s. 10d. per mile ; while the present sub-
sidy allowed for the whole service performed by
the company's steamers was equal to 9s. 10d. per
mile only. There were four or five ships on the
Brazilian line, two a month in the West India line,
and the present Mexican line had about the same
number. He did not think it probable that the
Government would give up the mails now carried
by the company's ships to the French company. He
was personally answerable for those observations,
because he had not taken the opinion of his col-
leagues on the subject. First-class steamers such
as theirs would be the only vessels that could get
away from the heavy iron-plated steamers that
would probably be adopted for war purposes. He
believed that at present no two men acquainted
with the matter could agree in opinion as to the
kind of war ships that should be constructed ; but
it was probable that after the Government had ex-
pended two or three millions of money something
tangible would be arrived at. Ships of war were
not so fast as the company's steamers, the latter
being the only ones capable of keeping up com-
munieation with the colonies, which he hoped would
never be suspended. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. R. GURNEY, Deputy-Chairman, seconded the
motion for the adoption of the report.
Mr. V. KNIGHT considered the affairs of the com-
pany very satisfactory, and argued that they ought
to have a bonus of £2 per share out of the large
balance in hand.
Mr. Alderman DARIN remarked that on a former
occasion certain persons managed to extort a bonus
from the directors—he believed it was in 1856, and
after it was paid they sold their shares. The divi-
sion of so large a bonus at that time was, he consi-
dered, a most unfortunate event for the company ;
but now they were within lass than two years of
the conclusion of their contract, and it was there-
fore of the utmost consequence they should retain
as large a reserve as they could.
Mr. SIMPSON moved an amendment to the effect
that £750 be added to the insurance fund, and.that
a bonus of £1 per share be taken out of the insur-
ance fund, and paid with the dividend to the share-
holdei s.

Mr. WARD thought that each year's accounts
should bear the profits and losses of the year, and
that there wore now plenty of means in hand to pay
the proposed bonus.

Dr. BEATTIE said it was impossible for any com-
pany to perform the mail service without a subsidy;
and if an old company could ne,t do it, with all their
experience, he would ask how could a new company
do it ? He considered that everything was con-
ducted by the directors with the utmost regard to
economy, and that consideral Ile mischief would arise
to the company and the cc ►untry if the system of
short contracts for such ii nportant services were
continued. He agreed with the directors that this
was not the time to give a 1 )onus out of the avail-
able surplus.

Mr, POWELL thought the Government did not
intend to terminate the contr set with the company.
It was impossible to work a atoll contract without
a subsidy, and if that was the object of the authori-
ties he hoped the directors Pon Id tell them they
must wind up the company. He believed the assets
would realise enough to pay tl .enl back J. 360 a share,
and a bonus of £5 or £10„ which would not be
much after 20 years' working,
Mr. GURNEY explained t'nat tb e present position
of the company was very (Vilferer .t from what it was
in 1856, when the bonus was paid to the share-
holders. They had received i
.n...that year £400,000
for the hire of ships to convey
troops to the Crimea.
They never could get
a bon us tout of the present
contract for the mails. They • had not been able to
divide more than 6 per cent. out of it, and to pro-
vide for depreciation. It w.
As of the utmost import-
ance they should be able to show the Government
they had the requisite mea
na to perform the service
efficiently in every respect
4 which no new company
could command.

On a show of hands, f ;he amendment Was nega-