The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-23 00:00:00

time, and this time only, it altered the balance of the ac-
count. The Nottingham and Grantham line, although it
could not be quite so favourably reported of as the Hertford
and Luton line was as good as could be expected ; besides
which it secured their position upon the line between Gran-
tham and Nottingham, which if not secured would have
fallen into the hands of competitors. Meantime, however,
the payment had the effect of reducing their revenue, so
that instead of £39,296105. Bd., the apparent balance of net
revenue, they had only £19,296 10s. Bd. He was happy to
say that this increase arose from the decreasing expenditure
in the various departments,the locomotive department and
others, a fact which did them great credit. With reference to
the statement in clause 11 of the report that the charge for
relaying the permanent way was £15,000 this year, as
against £5,009 in 1861, he mightlexplain that this was a
sum which might have been paid out of capital, but being
paid out of the revenue was in fact a paying off of the debt
to that amount, and he thought that the shareholders would
agree that this was a prudent course for them to adopt.
There was a sum left available for a dividend of £109,359
16s. 9d., which enabled them to declare a dividend of 41
per cent. on the original stock, or per cent, more than at
this time last year, and leave a balance of £1,460 4s. I Id.
Regarding the bills introduced into Parliament, one had
been passed, but another was rejected on the second read •
ing. As to that he thought it had been done without due
consideration; however, they must bow to the decision,
and consider it for the future. Several bills had been in
troduced into Parliament prejudicial and detrimental to
the interests of the company, which they thought it prudent
to oppose. This opposition was unavoidable, though he
regretted its involving them in great expense. He was sure
that intelligent gentlemen must know perfectly well that
it was as much their interest to protect their property from
inroads as to prosecute for new bills which would benefit
their line. He, however, regretted the system that took
money out of their pocket, but it really could not be avoided.
A SHAREHOLDER.--Is the remedy worse than the dis-
ease ?

The CHAIRXAN said that was what they could not ascer-
tain, as they had not tried letting the disease run its course.
Had the alternative of doing nothing been tried—they could
not try both at once—they might have had all their traffic
taken from them. He lamented the present system of par-
liamentary proceedings, as there was an immense amount
of money thrown away' (Hear.) But it-was asked again
what were they to do ? To sit still and let these bills be
prosecuted ? That would likely lead to them being seri -
ously bled, if he might use the expression. The chairman
concluded by expressing, in reply to questions, the hope
that Parliament would be persuaded to take the subject of
their procedure into consideration, and stating that he would
not have the slightest objection to their passing a bill visit-
ing parties wrongfully opposing the bill with the expense of
their opposition, he then moved that the report be received,
Mr. PACRE, M.P., seconded the motion.
Mr. GOETZ made a few remarks upon the subject of
railway accidents and compensation to passengers injured,
and asked if there was any amendment likely to be mado in
the law.

The CHAIRMAN said the feeling among lawyers was,
that Lord Campbell's Act was not working as intended, but
he could not say whether any change in the law was likely.
In the course of a conversation that followed on the subject,
he said that the difficulty and absurdity in the present law
was, that a poor man and a man with £lO,OOO a year, though
paying the same fare, and travelling in the same class of
carriage, were treated differently when an accident occurred.
Nothing could be more unjust, he thought, than the richer
man, travelling at the same fare claiming compensation on
his superior income. (Hear, hear:) If parties paid their
fares according to their positions in life, or according to the
sum they meant to claim, there would be some sense in the
law, because their mode of paying would in effect give them
a sort of insurance fund. Referring to the law as to corn •
mon carriers being only liable for animals up to a certain
fixed sum, unless specially insured, even a race-horse, which
might be worth a hundred guineas, was only valued at this
maximum rate, he said that he did not see why the same
principle should not apply to the carriage of passengers.
(Applause.)
Mr. Hua Las congratulated the directors on the favour-
able character of the report presented. Everything was
couleur de rose, and the dividends were large. He observed,
however, there was no sum in the account in connection
with the Hitchin accident, and he thought that if there had
been no payment to be entered as a charge against revenue,
there should at least have been a sum entered as an out-
standing liability of the company. He censured much the
system of subscribing to other lines, which he observed
this company was still continuing, as they were proposing
in this report to subscribe £90,000 in this manner. He
thought that if they had let other lines alone, and kept to
the trunk line, they would have followed a course which
would have been much more likely to enhance the prosperity
of the company. Other branch lines must have been made,
and could not have avoided taking traffic to the Great
Northern.

Mr. VALENTINE KNIGHT spoke in support of Mr.
Hughes's views, and protested against the whole system of
amalgamations. This course, if followed, would absorb
the dividend altogether, a misfortune which had happened
to other companies, and he hoped the directors would take
warning in time.

The CHAIRMAN said, regarding the Hitchin accident,
that at the last trial a verdict against the company had
been reduced from 13,000 to £9,000, but as to their further
procedure, he did not wish to say anything. The directors
were prepared to meet that liability, if it should be unavoid-
able, without encroaching on the capital of the company.
As to the course of the company in their connection with
other lines, he thought that the course they had taken was
unavoidable, and was the most conducive to their prosperity.
He pointed to the dividend which was recommended, and
remarked that Mr. Knight's prophecies as to the evils that
were to happen had as yet been unrealised.

After some further conversation, the motion was unani-
mously agreed to. Resolutions were then adopted declaring
dividends on the original and A and B Stocks as recom-
mended in the report, as also resolutions authorising the
directors to exercise the borrowing powers conferred on the
company by the Garston and Liverpool Railway, and other
acts to the extent of £91,00.
The meeting was then resolved into a special meeting to
sanction agreements with certain other companies under the
powers of the " Stockport, Time/ley, and Altrincham
Junction Railway Act, 1861," the "West Cheshire Rail-
way Acts, 1861 and 1862," the " Edgware, Highgate,
and London Railway Act, 1862," and the " Hatfield
and St. Albans Railway Act, 1862," and b authorise
subscriptions to the capital of the said West Cheshire,
Edgware, Highgate and London, and Hatfield and St.
Albans Companies, and the creation of stock for such pur-
pose. The heads of the various agreements were read
over. Mr. Goezt and others opposed them on principle, as
part of a system of railway management which they con-
demned; while in reference to the Edgware, Highgate,
and London Railway some shareholders thought that par-
ticular scheme injudicious, and that the expectations of
traffic would not be realised. This opposition was, how-
ever, overruled, and the proposals of the directors were
agreed to.
On the motion of Dr. REED a vote of thanks was given
to the chairman, and this terminated the proceedings.

Yesterday three of the best of the American
breech-loading rifles, a Whitworth, an Enfield, and the
cavalry carbine (which has been reported on favourably by
the Cavalry authorities at Maidstone), were removed from
the International Exhibition for the purpose of being
publicly tested at the long ranges at Wimbledon against
the accuracy and penetration of the Enfield as a muzzle-
loader.

CAPTURE OF A LARGE SALMON.—At the Stan-
nergate fishing station, east of Dundee, on Wednesday
morning, the coblemen captured the largest salmon they
have taken there for the past 30 years. It was 3ft. Bin. in
length, 27 inches in breadth, and weighed 471 b. It was a
remarkably fine fish, and, as its measurements show, ex-
ceedingly plump and InAvy is prop:quo, to its bizee—
PilOff 4ifccrffser,