The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-11 00:00:00

RAILWAY AND OTHER COMPANIES,

SOUTH DEVON.

The directors of this company have agreed to re-
commend a dividend for the half-year ending June
30 last at the rate of £2 2s. 6d. per cent., carrying
forward a balance of £1,499. The dividend declared
for the corresponding period last year was at the
rate of £1 12s. 6d. per cent.

TAFF VALE..
The directors of this company have resolved to
declare a dividend for the half-year ending June 80
last at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum.

MIDLAND.
The report of the directors states that they have
stil to report an increase in the traffic of the railway
for the past half year. The receipts from coaching
mweinreer£, ls 398,206, showing an increase of 11,111; from
£283,265, showing an increase of £604 ;
from merchandise to £509,632, showing an increase
of £26;093 ; from cattle, £15,034, showing an in-
crease of £393 ; the result of the whole being that
the gross amount of the traffic was £1,206,137 and
the total increase £38,201. The result was much
below that for the corresponding half of 1864, espe-
cially under the head of minerals, the receipts from
which had been materially reduced in consequence
of the strikes which had taken place in various parts
of the country, and from other causes. The balance
available for dividend was £438, 327, of which £6,615
was brought from the account of the previous half-
year, and the directors were enabled to recommend
the declarations of the following dividends (less in-
come tax), payable on Sept. 1 next :—£3 ss. upon
each £lOO Consolidated Stock ; £2 lls. 3d. upon
each £lOO Consolidated Birmingham and Derby
Stock ; £3 ss. upon each £lOO Consolidated Prefer-
ential Stock ; £3 5s per cent. on the Erewash Valley
Stock ; £2 per cent. on the Leicester and Hitchin
Preferential Stock, and at the usual rates on the
other preferential stocks ; 71c1. upon each £9
share, being 91 days at 6i per cent. per annum,
leaving a balance of £4,304 for the current half-
year. The dividend proposed was somewhat less
than that earned in the corresponding half of 1864.
This arose partly from an increase in the expenses
caused by the advance which had taken place in
wages, fuel, and other materials necessary for the
working of the railway, and partly from the in-
terest accruing upon the new lines which are at
present unproductive. Mr. Kirtley reported that
the rolling stock was in good working order, and
that during the half-year the mileage performed
with goods and passenger trains was 5,556,950
miles, showing an increase of 183,562 miles in the
passenger trains, and of 247,134 miles with goods
and mineral trains ; total increase, 430,696 miles.
The renewals of locomotive stock for the half-year
had been 10 engines, 33 carriages, 6 break-vans, 12
horse-boxes, 3 carriage-trucks, and 240 waggons,
the entire cost of which had been charged to

revenue,

Mr. CROSSLEY reported that during the past half-
year the railway works and stations bad been kept
in good repair, and that the permanent way had
been..relaid to the extent of 35 miles. With re-
spect to the new lines considerable progress had been
made upon the Rowsley and Buxton Extension to
New Mills, and the line might be ready for traffic
in the summer of next year. The contracts upon
the Bedford and London Extension were nearly all
let, and most of the works were making good pro-
gress. The pOrtions remaining unlet were from
near the Finchley-road to the River Brent, a dis-
tanCe of about two miles, and from the North Lon-
don Railway to the Euston-road, London, a distance
of about three-quarters of a mile. The branch
from • the Leeds and Bradford Railway to
Otley and Ilkley was opened for traffic on
the Ist instant. The works on the Duffield and
Wirksworth Railway were proceeding satisfacto-
rily'. The tunnel on the Sheffield and Chesterfield
Ralway had also been commenced, and contracts for
the remainder of the line were being prepared. Con-
tracts for the 3laugotsfield and Bath, and Yate and
Thornbury, and Melbourne and Sawley Railways
vgire also in course of preparation. The following
acts promoted by the Midland Railway Company
had received the Royal assent, viz. :—" An Act for
conferring additional powers on the Midland Rail-
way Company for the construction of works, and
otherwise in relation to their own undertaking and
the undertakings of other companies ;" "An Act
for enabling the Midland Railway Company to con-
struct railways from Mansfield to Southwell and
from Mansfield td Worksop, with a branch to Stave-
ley, and other branches." The bill for enabling the
company to construct a railway from Barnsley to
Kirkburton was withdrawn while in committee of
the House of Lords, an arrangement having been
_ _

made with the Lancashire and Yorkshire and Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Com-
panies, under the terms of which this company will
obtain running powers in perpetuity from Brighton
and Sheffield to Peniston, and fromPeniston to Hud-
dersfield. The following acts promoted by the Mid-
land Railway Company jointly with other companies
had also received the Royal assent—viz. :—An Act
for a joint station at Bristol for the Great Western,
Bristol and Exeter, and Midland Railway Com-
panics ; an Act to authorise the Stonehouse andNails-
worth Railway Company to extend their railway
from Dudbridge to the Great Western Railway at
Stroud ; an Act to vest in the Great Northern, the
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire, andthe Mid-
land Railway Companies jointly the Stockport and
Woodley Junction, the Stockport, Timperley, and
A ltrincham Junction, the Cheshire Midland, the West
Cheshire, and the Garston and Liverpool Railways ; an
act (as amended in committee) for authorising the
making by the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction
Railway Company of lines of railway by way of
substitution for lines of railway already authorised
to be made by them, and for authorising arrange-
ments between them and the Great Eastern Railway
Company and the Midland Railway Company.
There were 11 acts promoted by other railway com-
panies which conferred powers upon the Midland
Railway Company. A further creation of capital
was necessary for the purposes of the railway and
works authorised by Parliament during the Session
just ended in respect of six acts to the amount of
£2,314,975. The shares would be £lB each, and in
respect of the amount paid thereon would be entitled
to a preference dividend without further participa-
tion of profits (subject to existing preferences) at
the rate of £5 per cent. per annum in perpetuity.
Calls might be paid in advance, and interest at the
rate of 4 per cent. per annum would be allowed until
each call became due. The capital account showed
that £25,129,886 had been expended, leaving a
balance of £104,397. The revenue account for the
half-year ending the 30th of June showed that
£1,229,988 had been received, and £562,484 ex-
pended on working, £,211,772 for interest on loans
and preference shares, £254 Manchester and Matlock
deficiency, £23,265 North-Western rental, and £5OO
for redemption of debentures, leaving, with £6,615
brought from the preceding half-year, a balance of
£438,327.

LONDON AND NORTE( "WESTERN,
The capital account of this company shows that
£28,605,436 had been raised on shares, £10,134,678
on debentures, £310,830 on 3- per cent. debenture
stock, and £1,952,280 on 4 per cent. debenture stock,
making together £41,003,224. The expenditure
amounted to £39,679,981, leaving a balance of
1,323,243. The expenditure on capital account
during the past half-year appeared to be £636,263.
The cost of working stock amounted to £1,400,919.
The revenue account for the half-year ending 30th
June showed that £2,788,331 had been received and
£1,305,160 expended, leaving a balance of
£1,483,171. To this was added £25,482 from the
preceding half year, £28,707 interest on cash ba-
lances and calls in arrear, £36,252 rents, and
Y 77,655 estimated dividends op shares in other
companies, making together £4,651,627. From this
was deducted £259,888 iuteait on loans and debut-
:, £13,932 chietrents and interest on land ,
purchases, and £186,599 for dividends and interest
on shares, rents, and-other payments, to 26 rail-
way and canal companies, leaving a disposable ba-
lance of £891,208, out of which was deducted
£830,597 for the proposed dividend at the rate of
6 per cent. per annum, leaving a balance of
£10,611 to be carried forward. It was proposed to

tare steel;

make the dividend warrants payalble on Tuesday,
the 22d inst.

NORTHERN AND EASTERN.

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
yesterday at the Bishopsgate Station—Mr. R. W.
Kennard in the chair.

The report stated that the dividend on the re-
spective charges would become payable on the 23d
inst., on shares of £5O guaranteed 5 per cent. per
annum £l.ss. each, and on shares of £5O guaranteed
6 per cent. £1 10s. each.
The CHAIRMAN moved the adoption of the report.
Mr. T. C.WHrrEmAN seconded the motion, and it
was carried.

Mr. H. L. Smale was re-elected a director, and
the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to
the chairman.

ULSTER

The half-yearly meeting of this company was held
in Belfast on Wednesday—Mr. W. Coates, J.P.,
in the chair.

The report of the directors of this company states
that the expenditure on capital account for the half
year ending June 30 last amounted to £13,040, of
which £7,704 was for additional rolling stock. The
traffic receiptsfor the half-year amounted to £65,731
against £63,516 for the corresponding half of
last year, showing an increase of £2,215.
Exclusive of rates and taxes and after de-
duction of £2,376 for working the Banbridge
line, the working expenses amounted to
£29,442 as compared with £26,849 for the corres-
ponding year of 1864. The increase in the expen-
diture was mainly attributable to extensive repairs
and renewals of locomotive stock, to a larger con-
sumption, and higher price of coal, and to mainte-
nance of the Banbridge, Lisburn and Belfast and
Clones Extension lines. After paying interest on
loans and debenture stock, and the rent payable to
the Portadown, Dungannon, and Omagh Railway
Company there remained a balance of £21,720, out
of which the directors- recommended a dividend of
£1 on each £5O share, 10s. on each £25 share, and
of ss. on each £l2 10s. share, being at the rate of
4 per cent. per annum, less income tax, payable on
the 18th inst. to all shareholders not in arrear of
calls, leaving a balance of £2,137. The directors
had no doubt, from the applications they had re-
ceived, that the whole of the £lOO,OOO 4} per cent.
preference stock would be placed without difficulty
among the shareholders. There were now four
through trains each way daily between Dublin and
Belfast, two of which perform the journey in four
hours. The principle of issuing third-class return
tickets on the line had been recently adopted. The
questions at issue between the Newry and Armagh
Railway Company and this company had been satis-
factorily arranged. The capital account shows that
£1,388,887 had been expended, leaving a balance
against the company of £95,710. The revenue ac-
count showed that £65,738 had been received and
£31,563 expended, leaving a balance of £34,175.
The CHAIRMAN having moved the adoption of
the report, a discussion with reference to high fares
and increased expenditure took place. The report
was adopted, and the dividends recommended therein
were declared.