The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-27 00:00:00

EAST INDIAN.

The report of the directors states that when the
last meeting of the company was held the line had
been opened throughout, with the exception of the
great bridge over the Jumna, at Allahabad, from
Calcutta to the left bank of that river opposite Delhi.
After an exercise of the highest engineering skill
during nearly eight years the Allahabad Jumna bridge
was completed and opened for traffic on the 15th of
August last. The board most thoroughly concurred
in the encomiums passed by the Government autho-
rities upon the company's officers—namely, Mr.
Sibley, engineer in chief ; Messrs. Collet and Dunn,
the district and assistant engineers ; and the subor-
dinate staff employed on the Jumna bridge. This
work, from its inception to its final completion, re-
flected the greatest credit upon all parties concerned.
Mr. Sibley anticipated that the line from the left bank
of the Jumna into the city of Delhi might be opened
after the rains of 1866. The works on the Jubbul-
pore line were progressing to the entire satisfaction
of the board. At the last meeting the board reported
that the Government of India had proposed that a
considerable portion of the main line should be
doubled, and that after due consideration they had
come to the conclusion that the subject of doubling
a certain portion of the line, at all events, would
be better effected by the construction of the
chord line from Baiirackur to Luckieserai. The cor-
respondence which had taken place on the subject
had been explained to the shareholders. The board
had required that the capital for the chord line
should be kept distinct from that of the main line
during construction, and the Secretary of State for
India had insisted that the line and the capital
should be considered part and parcel of the main
line. The board, supported by the opinion of the
meeting, lost no time in again urging their views
upon the Secretary of State, but without effect.
After much anxious deliberation they came to the
unanimous conclusion—looking to the exigencies of
the traffic, and to the importance of an early econo-
mical supply of fuel—that it was for the intareete of
the shareholders that they should adopt the latter
alternative. The practical working of the question
was this—if the main line as a single line could not
earn a net revenue equal to more than 5 per cent.,
and if to secure a larger revenue either the linemust
be doubled, or the chord line made, no injury could
result to the shareholders from the concession they
had made. If the receipts of the opened line in
any half-year were more than sufficient to cover the
guaranteed interest which the Secretary of State had
to provide in respect of such half-year, one moiety
of the surplus would become the property of the
shareholders, in addition to the guaranteed interest.
In those circumstances, and viewing the prospect
there was of this result being soon attained, the
board did not doubt that the shareholders would be
of opinion that they had exercised a wise discretion.
The board had accepted a tender from Messrs.
Brassey, I'Vythes, and Perry, for the construction of
the chord line, at a cost considerably within their
engineer's estimate, and it would be their care not
to call up capital for the workmore rapidly than was
in their opinion necessary. Since the last meeting
the board had been invited by the Secretary of State
to furnish him with their views upon the question of
bridging the Hooghly, establishing a metropolitan
terminus in Calcutta, and forming junctions with
the Eastern Bengal and the Calcutta and South-
Eastern Railways, and, after fully considering the
subject in consultation with Mr. Bendel, had re-
corded, and had communicated to the Secretary of
State the following minute : " That this board are
prepared to recommend to the shareholders to un-
dertake upon the terms of the existing contracts as
to land, &c., and a guarantee of 5 per Cent. from
the Secretary of State, the construction of the pro-
posed bridge over the river Hooghly, and central
terminus station in Calcutta, according to the plans
referred to in Mr. Renders report, or such other
plans as may be agreed upon ; but, considering the
magnitude and special character of these works, the
fact that they will be undertaken upon metropolitan
and imperial considerations as well as for the purposes
of the company, and that it is not possible to define
either the time which will be required for the com-
pletion of the works or the return which the expen-
diture may be expected to yield, the board are of
opinion that the company is entitled to expect that
the account of the expenditure so incurred be kept
separate and distinct from the general capital ac-
count for a term of ten years, calculated from the
completion of the works, unless in the meanwhile
the works shall have yielded a net profit of more
than 5 per cent. on the cost of their construction,
computed upon a basis to be agreed upon hereafter
or determined by arbitration." The board did not
consider that the condition which the Secretary of
State insisted upon, and under which the ohordline
had been undertaken, was at all applicable to this
work ; and in the hope that the reasonable terms
they had proposed would be agreed to they sug-
gested that the shareholders should give them au-
thority to conclude a contract upon the basis set out.
The cost was estimated at from £1,250,000 to
£1,500,000. The average length of the line in work
during the half-year ending June 30 was I,lllf
miles, and the average length in work during the
half-year ended June 30, 1864, was 1,020 miles.
The permanent way and works had been main-
tained in efficient working order during the half-.
year at a cost of 101 d. per train mile. For the half-
year ended June 30 last the working expenses had
been 42.30 per cent., against 49.72 per cent. in
the corresponding half of last year. The gross traf-
fic receipt for the half-year ended June 30 last had
been £821,676, against £652,147 in the correspond-
ing half-year, showing an increase of £169,529, and
the net receipts £474,083, as compared with
£327,877 in the corresponding half-year, showing
an increase of £146,206. The net traffic receipts
from the opening of the line to June 30 last had
been £2,664,421. In the first 19 weeks of the cur-
rent half year the approximate gross receipts had
been £555,378, as compared with £384,671 in the
corresponding half-year, showing an increase of
£170,707. Those results were in the opinion of the
board highly satisfactory, and encouraged them to
hope that the expectation which had been,indulged
in, that when the line was opened throughout it