The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-08 00:00:00

LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE.

The report of the directors of this company states
that the amount of capital on 31st Dec. last on
which dividend or interest was payable out of re-
venue, exclusive of the leased lines, was as follows :
consolidated stock, £12,093,594 ; guaranteed and
preference stock £3,171,442 ; loans, 4,798,118 ;
money in advance of calls, £192,187 ; total
£25,255,371. The expenditure charged to capital
for the past half year, exclusive of new lines amounted
to £128,352. The expenditure on the new lines dur-
ing the half-year had been £188,835. The revenue
account for the half-year showed that the total re-
ceipts amounted to £1,041,635, against £971,509 for
the corresponding half of 1863, showing an increase
of £70,126. The total expenditure amounted to
£430,725, against £412,811, showing an increase
of £17,914. The balance of revenue applicable to
the payment of dividend on the ordinary stock of
the company was £371,577, and out of this amount
the directors recommended the proprietors to declare
a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent per annum, less
income-tax, and to carry forward the balance,
£8,769, to next half-year's account. The marked
increase in the company's revenue, referred to in
last half-year's report, was continued up to the
month of September last ; but the fluctuations in
the cotton-market had again prejudically affected
the trade of the district, and for a time diminished
the traffic receipts, both in Lancashire and York-
shire. The permanent way of the company had for
some years had the serious attention of the directors,
as, owing to the increased weight of engines, car-
riuges, and waggons, and of the loads moved by
them over the railway, the wear and tear of the
rails was very great ; and the result of careful in-
vestigation had led the directors to the conclusion
that for localities where the traffic was heavy steel
rails had many and decided advantages over the
common iron rails, lasting very much longer, and,
in the end, proving cheaper. Acting upon this con-
viction, they had directed steel rails to be laid down
at all those places where an ordinary rail would be
worn out in less than two years' time. The
estimate of the probable amount which would
be required during the current hall-year for the
extension of stations, for land, and for rolling
stock was as follows : Extension of stations,
including land, £75,000 ; rolling stock, £50,000 ;
together, £125,000. The line uniting the Victoria
and Salford stations was approaching completion,
and the works for enlarging and improving the
Victoria station were progressing, but not in some
portions of the works so rapidly as the directors
could wish. These works, when completed, would
not only be a great public accommodation, but
would be very advantageous to the company. The
directors were much gratified at haing a proposi-
tion made to them by the Great Eastern Railway
Company for the construction of a line of railway,
on joint account, from Long Stanton—a place about
six miles north of Cambridge—through Peterborough
and Lincoln, to join the company's railway at
Askern, passing through a rich agricultural county
singularly well adapted for the construction of a
first-elms trunk line, cheap in execution and
towf
eeexn-
cellent gradients. The result of negotiations between
by
the two boards had been the
trunk line
which it was proposed to construntetht
with a branch
referred to, about 113 miles in len,
e,
deposhit
y, passing over
port
out of it of about 13 miles from Htoatxhe
an easy district between
uniting the company's system of
4ob miles in length, wjth the
thus completely
railways, upwards of
which now represented up_
way, occupying several
and • 'ng access not only to London, with
wGarredsat Eofast6e6ron
msyislteesmc:f
ra
counties,g
its important dock accommodation, but also to nu-
merous
The won the south-east seaboard of England.
T
mileage of the new lines, including junc-
taplorts
tions with other railways, was 132 miles. The
following was the basis of the arrangement between
the two companies :-1. The capital,
£1,500,000,' is
to be provided by the two compamesinequ equal
amounts, and the undertaking is to be managed by