The Sun.
London, England, 1854-11-01 00:00:00

GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA.

Yesterdallithe half-yearly meeting of this company
was held at the offices, New Broad-street ; Mr. Wm. J.
Hamilton in the chair.

The report and abstract of the accounts have already
appeared in The Sun.
The CELADIMAN, in moving the adoption of the report
and statement of accounts, said that he should avail
himself of that opportunity to mention a few facts more
in detail, with reference to the undertaking of the eons-
pany, than it was possible to set forth in the report. In
the first place, he might- mention that since he last-had
the honour of addressing them, another portion of their
line had been opened, namely, from Tannah to Callian,
a distance of about 12 miles, and that the directors con-
tinued to receive the most satisfactory reports with re-
gard to the stability of the works, and of what was no
less interesting to the shareholder—the favourable cha-
racter of the receipts on the line. They would see, on
referring to the revenue accounts, that during the period,
little more than OM year, that the line had been opened,
the receipts ameuated to 14,0001. ; out of which if they
would take the working expenses, which were within a
fraction of being 50 per cent., they would have as net
profit the sun of 7,0001. Now, as during the greater
portion of that time only 22 miles of the line had been
worked, and as the other 12 miles bad only lately been
opened, they might, on an average, take that sum as the
profit on from 24 to 25 miles of road ; and as they had
found that 10,0001. per mile was the outside of their ex-
penditure,lthey might fairly look on that amount of profit
as satisfactory, insomuch as it appeared within a far-
thing to be 3 per cent, on the amount expended. It
was also satisfactory to know that as at present the re-
ceipts were derived entirely from the passenger traffic,
the line being too short to admit of any amount of goods
being conveyed by it with advantage to the owners, es-
pecially as it had to contend with a cheap water-carriage
to Bombay, so they would be greatly increased as soon
as a goods traffic could be brought upon the line. There
was, however, another reason why it happened that they
had not as yet obtained a goods traffic, and that was
that they had not a sufficiently good supply of good
waggons on hand. Indeed it had been proposed to
to them that they should have the waggons made at
Bombay ; but when they sent the iron work out to that
place, some difficulty bad been experienced in putting
the materials together. However, the time was sot
as yet arrived when they could expect that traffic ;
but so soon as they had their line opened to Shaw-
poor, a distance of 48 miles, they would have every rea-
son to expect a considerable amount of it, and would have
a sufficient supply of waggons to meet it. He had, at the
last meeting, referred to the advantage which their line
would afford the Government in the conveyance of troops,
and on this occasion he had to inform them of its having
conferred highly important advantages upon the com-
munity of Bombay, advantages of such a nature that
had they been withheld, considerable inconvenience, if
not misfortune, would have ensued. The last monsoon
had been preceded bysuch a drought that Bombay would
have been entirely devoid of water had not the railway
brought them an adequate supply. During the two
days immediately preceding the change in the weather,
the railway brought a supply of 150,000 gallons of water.
Since the preparation of the report the directors had
received advices from India, but they did not, as it was
expected they would, contain the detailed surveys of the
experimental lines, but gave most satisfactory reports of
the progress of the works; and Mr. Barclay, their resi,
dent engineer, stated that the works had in no mea-
sure been injured by the severe rains of the monsoon.
As a separate resolution would be put before the meet-
ing in reference to the powers of borrowieg possessed
by the company,. he should'ea;st no, &Lin the
meet-
ing by any observatione onthat subject, but would con-
clude by moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. 5131313 seconded the motion, and stated that the
report of Mr. Barclay, referred to by the chairman,
was moot gratifying.
Col. DICKENS regretted that steps had not been taken
to secure to the line at Calliam_the carriage of about
100,000 tons of merchandise, which was at present car-
ried from the Ehore Ghaut to Panwell, and from Tull
Ghaut, Khurdee, and Shawpoor to the Kassely Bender.
This, he thought, might have been accomplished, had
the directors improved the collectors' road between Cal-
lian and Choke, so as to intercept one stream of the
traffic, namely, that from Bhore Ghaut to Panwell,
and made a road of twelve miles in length from Callian
to Bhewady, a town on the road from Shawpoor to
Xassely Bender.
The CLSiRMti explained that the directors had no
power to do so.
The. report was then adopted.
.14e CRAIBIKAN then moved a resolution empowering
the company to borrow on debenture a loan to the extent
of one-third of the subscribed capital, for which the Go-
vernment of India would be security. He explained
that the, debentures were to be for five. years at 4i per
cent., and that the option of converting them into shares
was restricted to thi
shareholders
for them. The capital to artholders who might subscribe
n;
oee so raised was, he said, to be
applied to the extension lines, and the 4/. per share not
called up upon the last issued 100 shares, and which
made their capital 1,000,000/., could not be called in
unless for carrying out the experimentalo lines. As they
had 600,0001., or more than half their capital, paid
up, they were entitled to borrow the third of a million.
Mr. FIELD seconded the resolution, which was unani-
mously agreed to.
The proceedings then terminated with a vote of thanks
to the chairman.