The Sun.
London, England, 1853-10-01 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

SHREWSBURY AND BIRMINGHAM.
The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this com-
pany was held at the London Tavern yesterday, the
Hon. Mr. Clive in the chair, for the transaction of gene-
ral business. A special meeting was also held, at the
close of the general meeting, to " confirm, rescind, vary,
or alter, any resolution passed, or purported to be passed,
at a special meeting of the proprietors of the Shrewsbury
and Birmingham Company, held on the 14th day of Sep-
tember, and at a special meeting of the proprietors of the
said company, held on Wednesday, the 21st inst., or at
either of the said meetings.
The SECRETARY (Mr. Hall) having read the usual no-
tice convening the meeting,
The CHAIRMAN rose to address the meeting amidst
much cheering. He said—Gentlemen, the resolution
that I have to propose to you is, that the report of the
directors now read to this meeting, with the statement
of the accounts atprexed, be received and adopted, and
that the same be printed and circulated amongst the
proprietors. In moving the resolution—for it is the
last time such a duty will devolve on me as your chair-
man—l cannot avoid saying that Ido so with very con-
gratulatory feelings upon the prospect which we, the
proprietors of the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Rail-
way Company, have before us, of harmony and of
good feeling, and of the peace which I hope is now
universaily and firmly established amongst us. (Cheers.)
The accomplishment of this object has been my wish
for many and many a year, and it is a high gratifi-
cation to me, that at the very moment I am, as
your chairman, making my bow to you, such a happy
result is about to be realised. (Loud cheers.) But I
will not stop in my expression of feeling at that point.
It will be still more satisfactory to me if the conclusion
we have arrived at leads to an understanding with other
railway companies, and removes all those unfortunate
differences and difficulties that have so long existed, and
under which our property has grievously suffered.
(Cheers.) Without that, I say our settlement will not
be complete, litigation has been so long predominant in
the company. I, therefore, hope and trust the day has
at last arrived when peace shall be firmly established
amongst us. (Hear.) In consequence of what arose at
our last half-yearly meeting, a correspondence was en-
tered into with the London and North-Western Rail-
way Company with respect to rates and fares. It was
commenced on the sth of April, and was continued till
the 2d of July. That correspondence was published and
placed in your hands, and, therefore, I shall not do more
than merely refer to it, without entering into its details.
But I cannot help expressing my regret that the cones-
pondenoe failed in bringing about that which we so
earnestly desired to accomplish. Your directors, how-
ever, could not act otherwise than they did in obtaining
the concurrence and assistance of the Great Western
Company in carrying out the objects we have in view,
The Great Western Company, I must remind you, had
binding agreements with us, and by those agreements
we were in honour compelled to abide. The, London
and North-Western Company declined to trade with us
conjointly, and their determination, therefore, placed
us in a position that made it impossible to move
one way or the other, except in the way we did. Sepa-
rately they were disposed to negotiate with us, but sepa-
rately we could not enter into any agreement with them ;
that is the consequence of the agreement into which
we had entered with the Great Wstern Company. I
will now give the substance of two or three lines from a
communication I received from the London and North-
Western, and show, I think, that the difficulty which
that company raised against treating with us is entirely
removed. (Hear, hear.) The letter to which I allude
is the last one that I received from the London and
North-Western Company. It has not been published,
but I hope it will be, and I may here observe that the
previous letters were published before I received the one
in question, which is dated the sth of August last. That
letter contains a few observations respecting the peculiar
position in which our company were placed, and one
main objection raised in it against the London and North-
Western Company treating with us was, that the relations
between the Great Western and the Shrewsbury and
Birmingham Companies were maintained in defiance of a
majority of the shareholders of the latter company, and
that therefore on that ground the London and North-
Western Company did not feel themselves justified in
making an agreement with us. That objection is now
removed ; the majority in favour of relations with the
Great Western cannot now be divided. The objection,
therefore, is, thank God, removed, and what I now hope
and trust is, that your future board of directors will
realise the object which we have endeavoured to secure.
(Cheers.) I believe I may state, truly, that the Great Wes-
tern company will enter into ie agreement with a proper
and fitting spirit. I have before spoken of the evils of
competition, and I am sure you will agree with me in
saying that competition is a sad thing for a company who
have a large amount of traffic to enter upon. I find here
(the honourable gentleman was understood to refer to the
paper relative to the traffic of the Shrewsbury and Bir-
mingham line) that the number of passengers has been
215,355, a large number ; and I find the number of
tons of goods conveyed has been 119,644 [the hon. gen-
tleman did not say for what term]; and yet, with this
immense traffic, the results are not sufficient to cover
the expenditure. Now, how are our oppenents, the
London and North-Western, proceeding in the race of
competition ? And in speaking of that company, I sin-
cerely desire not to say anything that may appear ill-
natured ; all I desire is by argument, reason, and facts,
to induce them to alter the course which they have, I
think unfortunately, pursued in reference to this com-
pany. I see, by a paper published the other day, the
accounts of the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal
Company (this company is guaranteed by the London
and North-Western Company), that the half-year's in-
terest on debenture bonds, xc., was 16,4821. 195., and
the dividend then payable, 17,5031. 9s. sd. ; together,
33,9861. Bs. sd. ; while the net canal and railway revenue
amounted to 16,0271. 7s. 10d. ; so that the amount
charged against the London and North-Western revenue
further in respect of the Shropshire Union Railway and
Canal was 17,9591. Os. 9d. (Hear, hear.) This is
merely for the past half-year, and I have no doubt the
loss will be nearly the same this half-year. (Hear,
hear.) I Lament that the immense traffic possessed by
great railway companies, and which, under further re-
lations with their neighbours, might be made more pro-
fitable, should, by their own acts or by necessity—that
is, by competition and reduction of rates—be rendered
utterly and entirely unremunerative. I assure you that
Ido not say this in a hostile spirit. I mention it simply
in the hope that they (the London and North-Western
Company) will at last consider the position to which they
have brought us, and which, if they pursue their present
policy they will bring themselves, and that they will do
Justice to this company and to the public. I would
make one remark on the success that has attended our
efforts in Parliament. We have materially assisted in
carrying out the Colebrook Dale line, which was ne-
glected by the Shropshire Union Railway Company.
The line, if in possession of adverse parties, might have
been injurious to us, but, in connection with us, it must
be most advantageous to our traffic. The line is imme-
diately in our district, and I hope and trust you think
we have been promoting your interests by supporting
the undertaking. (Hear.) I have the gratification of
stating that the agreement with the Great Western Com-
pany has been examined by eminent counsel ; that Mr.
Rolt has given it his best attention, and I am glad to say
that it has received the seals of the three companies—
(cheers)—and will be read to you to-day. (Hear.) I
will now allude to a matter which has caused me and
my brother directors great pain—l allude to the Chan-
cery suit which was commenced against us, but which
we now understand has been abandoned. Now, I speak
for myself, and, I believe, my brother directors. [A
Shareholder—Do you speak for all the directors ?] lam
speaking for myself, and I say there are other directors
also, who are willing and ready to give any answer to
whatever may be urged against them in reference to that
suit ; but as I understand it is abandoned, I will not
further touch upon the subject. I do complain of the
unusual, the unprofessional course which has been
adopted. I see an honourable friend of mine—l
don't think he has had anything to do with it—the
unprofessional course of publishing charges against
gentlemen, and distributing them throughout the whole
country, without waiting a few days for answers and
denials which might have been given. (Hear.) That is
not an English way of proceeding, and I venture to say
that, for many, many years, such an occurrence has not
taken place. A more unjust, a more unfair course,
never has been adopted against a body of directors ; but
I could not give any reply except that which the law
allowed me to do ; I would not issue any circular to
justify myself. I hope, whenever I appear before the
public and before you, you will do me justice, and I will
be satisfied. I should further say, that the Solicitor-
General disclaimed all knowledge of the proceeding to
which I have alluded. I lay the discredit of it upon
those who gave the advice which was thus acted upon.
Your directors have endeavoured to carry out what Par-
liament allowed them to do in the last session. They
were not enabled to do much, but to that extent and
to the utmost of their power they did so. The investi-
gation of the accounts by professional aocountants is
going on, and the accounts of the half-year have already
been examined. There has been an appointment of an
independent secretary, and I hope he will act faithfully
and honestly, and I believe, from what I have heard,
we may safely recommend him to your notice. We
cannot expect much information at this time from him
—his appointment has been of such recent date—and it
has been difficult for him to attend to the ordinary
business, and at the same time make himself master of
other intricate subjects connected 'with the affairs of the
company. I hope, therefore, you will make some
allowance for the way in which he may answer ques-
tions that may be put to him. I will make one remark
as to my view of what railway accommodation should
be ; you have all heard of Mr. Cardwell's report ; public
accommodation, in my opinion, is the first thing to be
looked to—let us compete for that, and we shall be
satisfied. A railway is. a public highway ; everybody
has a right to use it ; and I hope Mr. Cardwell's report
will be carried out in full spirit, that everybody who
chooses to make use of a railway—under proper regula-
tions—shall be allowed to do so. Every railway com-
pany is bound to carry the traffic of its neighbour; and
it is only by such oordial wotking together for the
special object that the welfare 'of the public can be
secured. I hope that this state of things will be secured.
For my own part, the achieving of it will be a main
feature with me, whenever dismssions connected with
railways come before me, and I shall do my utmost to
see that object honestly and faithfully carried out. One
word more—and I am afraid I have exhausted your
patience—l thank you for the attention you have already
given to me. In retir:ng from your direction, I will not
conceal from you that I have passed many anxious, aye,
and I will add, many harassing hours of late. It is im-
possible, after all the attacks that have been made upon
me, not to entertain such feelings ; but I have endea-
voured to bear them patiently. And I now call upon
you to render me such justice as I deserve at your hands.