The Sun.
London, England, 1854-03-13 00:00:00

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carrying merchandise in the height of the semen .by `0 d.'
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the passenger steam-ships. The branch line from Rye --.111,4;"'a
to Rye Harbour is just completed, and the pier erected. i.,•':,;-=. s..
there will afford facilities for French traffic from the ,5-!tf..1,.
coast of Normandy and other parts, which could nop be :'',?-13.!, ',y e '
so conveniently received at any other of the' South- ..i:"`-'s.:.,Li4;
Eastern ports. The contract with the Northiiiii, of . ,21= ,e.;ii.,'..a
France Company to continue the 8.10 a.m. daily train. *:',,4';:1`,,,
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from the London-bridge Terminus to Dover, and the -..,'
steam-packet service in connection therewith to Calais,
and a direct service to Paris, continues in force to the
Ist July next ; the tidal service from the London-bridge
Terminus daily, in correspondence with a steamer at
Folkestone, to Boulogne continues, and an express train
from Boulogne to Paris daily, in correspondence, will •
be resumed on the Ist May. It is gratifying to the di-
rectors to be able to state, on good authority, that the
remaining portion of the Lyons Railway from Chalons
to Lyons, 82 miles in length, will be opened for public
traffic in May next ; and the portion from Lyons to
Avignon, which will complete railway communication
through France to Marseilles, will be finished in June,
1855 • and then the route by the South-Eastern Railway
for the Mediterranean and Indian traffic will be more
properly established, and it will no doubt obtain the
larger proportion of the traffic. Since the Government
gave permission fur the examination of the baggage of
passengers it the Custom-house at the London-bridge
Terminus, arriving by the night mail train leaving Paris
at 7 p.m. and arriving in Loudon at 7.45 a.m., that faci-
lity has been availed of 2,290 passengers, and 4,451 pieces
of baggage have been examined by the Custom-house
, officers at the London-bridge Termin us. The directors pro-
pose applying to the Lords of the Treasury to grant the
same facility to passengers using the tidal service from
Paris to London during the ensuing season. In the
course of the last half-year three locomotive engines were
constructed at the Ashford works, and six more are in
progress of construction. There is charge to capital ac-
count in this respect amounting to 9,4201. ss. 10d.
Since the commencement of the present half-year, two
engines out of the four contracted for with Messrs. R.
Stephenson and Co., at 2,4501. each, have been delivered.
In the half-year ending on the 31st January, 1853, the
number of miles run by engines was 1,425,356, the coke
consumed was 16,910 tons ; the total cost being 14,6081.
9s. Bd., or 2'4597d. per mile. During the last half-
year the number of miles run by engines was 1,475,014;
the coke consumed was 16,526 tons—being an average
of 25•091b5. per mile, at a cast of 18,3421.155., or 2'9Bd.
per mile. The engines, therefore, ran 49,658 miles
more last half-year than in the corresponding half of the
preceding year, and consumed 384 tons less coke, at an
increased charge of 3,734/. ss. 4d. The total running of
the engines has cost 9'221d, per rifle, which,. des
.
3.160 d. per mile for repairs and renewals. The carriage
and waggon stock of the company is in good order ; the
whole cost of repairs and renewals of new for worn-out
stock during the hall-year is charged to revenue. There
is a charge to capital account for additional new stock
completed and in progress of construction of 7,8111, 12s.
2d., which includes an addition of 17 vehicles in the pas-
senger department and 10 in the goods department, and
the expenditure incurred on 28 vehicles in progress of
construction in the passenger and 10 in the goods depart-
ment. To provide for the increasing traffic the directors
contracted on the 19th January for 200 goods and coal
waggons, and 60 third class passenger carriages, and
they are constructing at the works at Ashford, 18 coke
waggons, 24 new brake second class carriages, 14 brake
luggage vans, and 20 ballast waggons. The charge in the
account for the maintenance of the permanent way during
the last half-year is large ;it is 23,5581. 4s. 9d., against
18,4491. 17s. in the corresponding half-year. It will
be observed that the mortgage debt of the company,
which at the commencement of the half-year amounted to
],950,2251., at the close of the half-year amounted to
2,363,4251., showing an increase of 413,1001. The
average charge on this debt is at the rate of 4'2388 per
cent, per annum. The directors completed the purchase
of the Canterbury and Whitsable Railway on the 12th of
December last, by the payment of the subscribed capital
of 58,3501. The mortgage debt of that company amounts
to 38,670/., which will be liquidated by this company as
it falls due by the issue of mortgages to a similar amount.
The contract for the construction of the line from Strood
to Maidstone has been let by tender, after public adver-
tisement, to Mr. George Wythes, and the works will
proceed at once, as the completion of the line, besides
being enforced by parliamentary enactment, will, in the
opinion of the directors, improve the position of the com-
pany, and add to its profits. It will be necessary to
authorise the issue of 41 per cent, stock for the purchase
of the land required for this line and for the works. One
of the conditions of the contract is, that the directors
shall have the right, if the-y see fit, of making payment
in 41 per cent, stock at par, in lieu of payment in cash.
The engineer has submitted that the increased traffic of
the railway requires an extension to be made to the pre-
sent London Bridge station, and plans have been pre-
pared by him which would, in his view, answer the ob-
ject, and make improvements in the present arrange-
ments of the terminus for an enlarged traffic, and for
the comfort of passengers, the waiting rooms and other
conveniences being in a state which necessity alone has
justified. The purchases of land required for this pur-
pose, the arching, and other works are estimated at a sum
of 54,380/. Until this question is decided, it will not
be judicious to proceed with the bonded warehouse at
this terminus for French traffic, although its construc-
tion, the directors are convinced, will considerably
augment the traffic of the line. The construction of this
addition to the terminus will enable the traffic to be more
economically and conveniently conducted, as it would
afford space for a larger number of carriages at the
London-bridge terminus, and prevent the necessity of
frequently removing trains, at considerable expense, to
and from the Bricklayers' Arms station. The directors
addressed the proprietors, on the Ist of December, on
the subject of the lines of railway and various undertak-
ings which were projected by other parties, and in-
tended to be submitted to Parliament in the present
session ; and on the 16th of February they submitted
to the proprietors a revised list of these schemes, enu-
merating only the plans for which had been deposited,
and the deposits paid. In the former case, the number
of schemes projected was twenty, which, in the latter, were
reduced to seven, and these are now pending in Parliament.
Two of these schemes are for railways to Bromley and
Farnborough, connecting themselves with the Brighton,
and not the South-Eastern line. In the anxious position
in which the directors are placed, of responsibility and
watchfulness over the company's affairs, it was their
duty to consider in what way the general interest of the
company could best be protected and promoted under
the circumstances, and the resuit was that the majority
of the directors considered it advisable to submit to you
the propriety of constructing a branch railway from
Lewisham to Bromley, which was a part of tho scheme
submitted to Parliament in the preceding session ; hav-
ing on that occasion the addition of a junction with Croy-
don, and being put forward on joint account with the
Brighton Company. The estimates submitted to the
directors show that an expected outlay of 136,0001. on
this branch, six miles in length, would secure a return
of upwards of 5 per cent. ; and the facilities which it
would enable the directors to give to the traffic at the
New Cross, the Lewisham, and the Blackheath stations
would be of undoubted value. It will be for you to
determine definitively whether it is advisable to proceed
with this measure. In the view of the majority of the
board it will be remunerative and advantageous. In
order to make the Lewisham and Bromley project and
1 the company's schemes more intelligible to the pro-
prietors, . the directors enclose a map of the district,
denoting the different lines. The extension of the
Green lines from Farnborough to Tunbridge and
Maidstone was proposed by the projectors of the Sydens
ham and Farnborough line, and the notices were given ;
but their project at present pending before Parlia-
ment extends only to Farnborough. The directors
whose term in office expires at the ensuing meeting
are Mr. Robert Browne, Mr. Charles Ironside, and
Mr. Henry Lewis Smale, and under the resolution of
the directors announced in March, 1852, Mr. Charles
Ironside will not offer himself for re-election. The term
in office of 'lr. John Morgan as auditor also expires at
the ensuing meeting, and he has given notice of his in-
tention to offer himself for re-election. Mr. Charles
Whetham, of 38, Gracechurch-street, and Mr. Frederic
Rowton, of 25, Coal Exchange, have also given notice
of their intention to offer themselves for election to the
office of auditor. The sum of 153,775/. Bs. Bd. at the
credit of profit and loss, will provide for a dividend of
12s_ per 30/. stock, or at the rate of 41. per cent. per
annum, and leave a sum of 5,1011. Bs. Bd., out of which
a steam-ship reserve fund may be set aside. Since the
commencement of the present half-year the traffic shows
considerable improvement."

SCOTTISH CENTRAL.

The report of the directors states that the receipts for
the half•year ending the 31st of January last amounted
to 53,5071., and the working expenses, debenture and
preference interest, to 34,9671. leaving a surplus of
23,5401. The directors recommend a dividend at the
rate 4 per cent, per annum on the consolidated stock,
which will absorb 20,400/., and leave a balance for the
reserve fund, which will then amount to 10,055/. To
meet the increase of working expenses from the rise in
wages and price of materials, the directors have in-
creased the tariff of merchandise and mineral rates since
the beginning of the year, which they find will more
than counterbalance the extra cost of working. The
expenditure on capital account is 1,700,773/.

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