The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-27 00:00:00

league disguising itself with the mask of liberty.
Brutus by killing Caesar plunged Rome into the
horrors of civil war ; he did not prevent the reign
of Augustus, but he rendered possible those of Nero
and Caligula. Nor has the ostracism of Napoleon
by conspiring Europe pievented the resuscitation of
the Empire, and yet how distant are we from that
solution of great questions, from the appeased pas-
sions, from the legitimate satisfaction, given to
nations by the first Empire !
" Thus, ever since 1815 has verified itself that
prophecy of the captive of St. Helena :--

" Wkat struggles, what bloodshed, what years
will yet be required that the good I wished to do
to mankind may be realised (1) ?'

" NAPOLEON.
" Palace of the Tuileries, March 20, 1862."

(1) In fact, what disturbances, civil wars, and revolu-
tions have occurred in Europe since 1815 ! In France, in
Spain, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Hungary, Greece, and Ger-
many.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

---.-.0.---

GREAT NORTHERN.

The half-yearly general meeting of this company was
held on Saturday at the King's-cross station ; Col. Packe,
M.P., in the chair.

The report, an abstract of which has appeared in The
Sun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the report,
said he was sure the shareholders would unite with him and
his colleagues in regretting the loss the company had sus-
tained by the retirement from the board of Mr. Denison,
their late chairman. He then adverted to the able and
successful manner in which their late chairman had suc-
ceeeded in overcoming all difficulties, and in making their
railway one of the best in the kingdom for the shareholders
and the public. The report contained a full account of
their proceedings during the past half-year. The traffic
receipts showed an increase of £90,000 over those of the
corresponding half of 1863, and he might say that it was a
great disappointment to the directors that they were not able
to give the shareholders a better dividend than at the cor-
responding period; but at the same time he thought they
had acted wisely, and for the benefit of the company. The
chief item of increase in the expenditure was in the engi-
neer's account for the renewal of the permanent way. More
money had been laid out in the past half-year on renewals
of the permanent way, steel rails, and fishing than in the
corresponding period. They had also laid out 'money in
painting stations and other necessary repairs, making toge-
ther an increase under these heads of £11,222, as compared
with the outlay in the corresponding period. In the loco-
motive department they had run an extra mileage of 300,000
train miles. The price paid for fuel was higher, and the
item .for wages was also increased. They had also been
delayed for want of additional working stock in conse-
quence of the strike in the iron trade. They had ordered
20 more engines last year to be delivered between June
and September, but not one of them had been delivered
until recently ; hence expenses had been incurred in hiring
engines from other companies, making together the increase
£27,604 in the locomotive charges. They had had unfortu-
nately under the head of compensation a large amount to
pay, being £B,lOO more than at the corresponding period.
The compensation for every trifling accident demanded by
the public amounted in the aggregate to a large sum. A truck
of cotton had taken fire by what he believed to have been
spontaneous combustion, and for which they had to pay
£919 as compensation, beside the destruction of their truck.
In consequence of the prevalence of dry weather, sparks
from the engines had set fire to some cornfields, and that
had to be paid for. The rates and taxes had been £1,314
more, and the Government duty £l,OOO more, making alto-
gether the increased charges £60,000. The revenue ac-
count had also to pay a dividend on the amount received on
the new stock recently issued, and which had been ex-
pended on new lines, and on works that were at present
unproductive, making in all £35,000. Those additional
charges entirely accounted for the absorption of the £90,000
of additional revenue, as compared with the corresponding
half of 1863, so that they were enabled only to pay the
same dividend ; but, notwithstanding that, he considered,
on the whole, that the railway was in a prosperous state.
With regard to the 17th paragraph in the report, the di-
rectors again found themselves compelled to protect the
property of the company,in opposing an application to Par-
liament by the Great Eastern and Lancashire and Yorkshire
Companies for a railway from Long Stanton to Askern.
They could see by the map in the room that the proposed
line would run for the greater portion of its length at a
comparatively short distance from the Great Northern
lines, and was very nearly similar to the line of last year
projected by the Great Eastern Company and rejected by
Parliament. The directors had tried all they could to meet
the requirements of the Great Eastern, and in October last
had offered them running powers over the Great Northern
lines for the coal traffic, and if they could not settle the
terms between themselves to refer the matter to arbi-
tration. But all that had been refused, and so they
would bo compelled this session at great expense to
protect the property of the company. The directors had
deemed it advisable to apply for power to make' a line of
16 miles from their Wood-green station to Hertingford, as
the traffic at Hitchin and Welwyn was getting so large at
these stations that two more lines of railway were required ;
but, instead of widening the existins line and making addi-
tional tunnels, they proposed to make the intended line
through a new country having better gradients and less ex-
pensive works, but it was not promoted in opposition to any
other line. They had recently made arrangements to acquire
permanently the West Yorkshire Railway on fair and equit-
able terms to both parties. It had been worked since its
formation by the Great Northern Company ; it was, in fact,
a line that they should have constructed themselves, and it
was therefore necessary for the'r traffic. They had made
an agreement in conjunction with the Manchester, Shef-
field, and Lincolnshire Company to enable the Midland Rail-
way Company to become joint owners with them in the
Cheshire lines, and in the extension line into Liverpool,
When they found that the Midland had got to Manchester,
they knew they could not long keep them out of Liverpool,
so they thought it better to allow the Midland to participate
in the use and ownership of the new lines to Liverpool on
condition of contributing one-third of the expense. He had
explained all these matters as far as he could, and would be
happy to answer any questions.
Colonel DUNCOMBE, deputy-chairman, seconded the
motion for the adoption of the report.

Mr. FILDES said he and others had felt considerable sur-
prise when it was announced that, with an increase of
£90,000 in the receipts, there was to be no increase in the
dividend ; but when he looked into the accounts he found
that sums had been charged against revenue which ought in
fairness to the A stock, to have been charged against capital,
which had been the cause of a fall of 13 per cent. in the
price of that stock. He contended that all additions to the
company's estate should be charged to capital, and that the
cost of repairs, maintenance, andrenewals should be charged
to revenue, but the expense of increasing the capacity of
waggons from six to nine tons, the difference between the
cost of steel rails and iron rails, the increase in the weight of
materials used, and the fishing of rails should be charged
against capital, and so also should the interest of capital ex-
pended on unproductive works during construction. Had
those expenses been fairly charged, exclusive of the interest
on unproductive capital, he estimated that £34,000 more
would have been available for dividend, and instead of
the dividend on the ordinary stock of the company being as
proposed at the rate of 81 per cent. per annum for the past
half-year it would have been at the rate of n per cent. per
annum at least, which would have made a great difference
to the holders of A stock. Instead of a reduction of lfd
per train mile in the cost of working, as had been effected on
the London and North-Western Railway, there had been
an increase of id. per train mile on the Great Northern
Railway, making a difference of 2d. per train mile. As to
the additional engines required, he knew that there was a
vast deal more traffic waiting to come on their line than the
company could take. (Hear.)
the
charges against revenueglad to theitor
the dprreocpershadcarriplace
ed
e
Mr. V. KNIGHT was
counts.ac-
Re differed entirely on that point from the last
speaker.

Parliamentary cam-
paign Mr. NtcHoLs feared from the statement in the report
pthaaignt thineyemippegheitnegxtpehectisTeartnheernseiveT
in, They had already ex-
pended in the past half-year £22,900
expanses,
the corresponding
amounted
Parliamen-
tary charges, and there was also
the head of liabilities to be settled for legalremaining urenadker-
parte'ToefePtheendiuging in all £30,000. The claims forcom
to .£B,lOO. in excess of the same item inPetlin
period, which showed some laxity on the
ser-
vants, or some deterioration of the permanent
Iva
rolling stock. lie hoped that her Majesty's letter' Land
gard to accidents would receive due attention, and that
re-
some efficient mode of communication between passengers
and guards would be adopted.
Mr. FREEBODY thought the shareholders should pay more
attention to their own affairs. It appeared to him that the
Great Northern were aggressors as well as their neighbours;
they had expended £870,000 on new lines in other districts
during the past year, and the shareholders should put a stop
to that kind of expenditure. They had better give up the
heavy coal trade to the Great Eastern than incur so much
expense year after year in defending it.
Mr. TAYLOR said there had been a sort. of panic got up as
to the danger of railway travelling, but people seemed to
forget that at the small expense a 3d. a journey the Rail-
way Passengers' Company would assure them £l,OOO. It
was practically impossible to prevent accidents, and fortu-
nately they were comparatively few.
Mr. GOEZ remarked that formerly all the complaints of
shareholders had been that directors had charged too much
was difficult to capital,
eauld
to that
holdat th e
thedi
but they had just been told by Mr. Fildes that
the directors of this company had charged too much against
vit:leanndeeshevoulendlyh,abvuetbeitewnaslaregvierd.eplit
th him that if the directors •
safe side.
The c RAlratAx replied
explained that the sums to the various observations, and
ing waggons and fishing and
against revenue for enlarg-
ing
to capital, but that lifdeteeling rails were too small to
they were large sums it would