The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-27 00:00:00

11A1ZWA4- 11471481ZT422r011.

CHESTER AND IIOLYHEAD.

A special meeting of this company ;as held yesterday
at Easton Station, to consider two bills now before Par.
liament—Admiral Moorsom in the chair.
The solicitor read the heads of a bill to enable the
Bangor and Carnarvon Railway Company to lease or sell
their undertaking to the Chester and Holyhead Railway
Company. The bill authorised the Bangor and Car-
narvon Company to raise additional capital to the amount
of 40,0001., in addition to 120,0001. already raised. Of
the 40,0001., 20,0001. is to pay off existing mortgages,
and 10,0001. only is to be borrowed. The undertaking
is to be vested in the Chester and Holyhead Company on
payment of an annual rent of 0,4001. per annum.
On the motion for approving the bill, a discussion en-
sued, in the course of which it was stated that in the
original agreement with the Bangor and Carnarvon Com-
pany, for paying the cost of the line with interest at 5
per cent., they were allowed the tods on mineral traffic
to and from that line carried over the Chester and Holy-
head Railway, which last year amounted to 11,0001.,
but by the new arrangement they would receive a fixed
sum at the rate of 4 per cent, on the cost of the railway.
This arrangement would effect a present saving of about
5,000/. a-year to the Chester and Holyhead Company,
and at the same time make the Bangor and Carnarvon
shares saleable, which they were not at present.
The resolution approving the bill was declared carried.
The other bill for authorising traffic arrangements be-
tween the Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Chshire Rail-
way Company and the Chester and Holyhead Com-
panyHeu haseevfincgoibneiennensr,ejeicttewdaebyhettheeuhcmorinttmedit,teeahocif
tthhee
meeting separated.

NORTH STAITURDSHIRK.
A special meeting of. this company was held yester-
day at the London Tavern, to consider certain bills now
before Parliament in compliance with the standing
orders of the House of Lords ; Air. Ricardo, M.P., in
the chair.

The CHAIRMAN said, the company had promoted three
bills in the present session, two of which were rejected,
and one had passed the House of Commons. The bill
he had to submit was for making a line from Stoke-
upon-Trent to Congleton, on the North Staffordshire
line. It would be constructed as a single line for the
purpose of developing the enormous mineral wealth of
the district. The line was estimated to cost 190,0001.,
and would be 18 miles in length, including six miles of
branches. The traffic on it in coal would realise an in-
come of 15 per cent. on the cost of the line, and, de-
ducting 50 per cent, for working expenses, would leave
a very good profit. This undertaking would be included
in the arrangement with the London and North-
Western Company for a guaranteed dividend on the
whole of the North Staffordshire Railway. With
regard to the other bills, one was for authorising
the amalgamation of the North Staffordshire Rail-
way with that of the London and North-Western,
and the other for sanctioning working arrangements
between the two companies. These bills were thrown
out by the committee. It was unnecessary to go into
the details of the first arrangement that had been en-
tered into with the London and North-Western Coin-
pany for leasing the line under the award of Mr. R.
Stephenson and Mr. Hope Scott, the terms of which
were, that the North Staffordshire Company were to
receive for a certain time 3 per cent., then 31 per cent.,
and afterwards 32 per cent. in perpetuity. The share-
holders had expressed themselves satisfied with these
terms, but the directors had never been satisfied with
them. Under the circumstances, they had no alterna-
tive but to adopt them ; and if the amalgamation bill
had passed in the last session embodying those terms,
their property would have been parted With for 1 or 2
per cent. per annum less than its value. Fortunately
for the proprietors, Mr. Cardwell's committee stopped
all the amalgamation bills in the session of 1853. In the
meantime the local traffic became so considerable on the
line itself as to pay more than the term• agreed upon.
That being the case, the directors felt that they could
not ask the shareholders to sanction a bill authorising
the sale of the line for less than it was actually earning
at the time. The matter was represented to Mr.
Stephenson, who had on a former occasion gone very
fully into the details of the traffic on the line, with a
view to show that gentleman that the actual traffic on
the line had proved that his judgment with respect to it
was erroneous. They were met in a very liberal spirit
by the London and North-Western Company, and it was
mutually agreed that the latter company were to pay at
the rate of 3! per cent. for the traffic of the next half.
year, and at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum in 1855
and subsequent years up to 1859, when the North
Staffordshire shareholders should have the option
of receiving a dividend equivalent to that of the
London and North-Western, or to exchange their shares
for a similar amount of London and North-Western
stock. The canal companies had opposed the Amalga-
mation Bill in Parliament, liberal terms of settlement
were offered them which they refused, and so the mat-
ter concluded. He had explained to the various canal
interests that so long as they worked their canals pro-
perly and for the benefit of the public they had nothing
to fear from the competition of railways. .lisesbelieeed
that their company were in no worse positiot y the re-
jection of the Amalgamation Bill. It might, in fact, be
a very fortunate thing for them, as they were thus lett
entirely unfettered by any restrictions in carrying on
their traffic. He believed that the London and North-
Western Company were most anxious to carry out the
arrangement. The North Staffordshire used formerly
to be shut up at two ends of the line by the London and
North-Western Company, which obstructions were now
removed. Their local traffic wart now going on increas-
ing, and they were otherwise in a good position. They
could have an outlet for their traffic at Wolverhampton
by means of the Great Western, and at Leicester by
means of the South Midland, so that he had no doubt
they would be in a sufficiently independent position to
insure the full co-operation of the London and North-
Western Company. He had no reason to expect that
there would be any difficulty in carrying out the arrange-
ment ; they would have to apply to Parliament again and
again for the Amalgamation Bill, and he had no doubt
that the alliance between the two companies was as
secure as if the Amalgamation Bill had passed. To
show that the line was developing the traffic, he stated
that in the year 1850 836,954 passengers were conveyed
on the line, and in 1853, 1,203,156, showing an increase
of 366,202 passengers ; and the quantity of goods from
272,893 tons in 1850, to 609,958 tons in 1853, showing
an increase of 337,065 tons. This was all upon the rail-
way, and did not take off any of the traffic of the canal.
The traffic on the railway for the past three months
showed an increase of 10,0001. over the receipts for the
corresponding period of last year. The average receipts
were now 7,2001. per week, equal to 31 per cent. ; 8001.
more, er 8,0001. per week, would be equal to 4 per cent.;
and 8,800/. per week would be equal to 5 per cent. per
annum, leaving a balance of 10,0001. It would require
an increase in the present gross traffic of 11 per cent. to
reach a dividend of 4 per cent, per annum, and a further
addition of 10 per cent. to reach 5 per cent. per annum.
The increase of traffic on the line in 1853 amounted to
inntsh4attotl2l: was,fpuerrticieernt'in;eirtease e hadthere-
fore, not improbable
17 per cent., and
named would be realised, and,-at all events, that the re-
turns would yield 5 to 51 per cent. at the end of four
years. He concluded by moving a resolution approving
the bill for making a railway from StokO to Congleton.
The solicitor read the heads of the bill. A discussion
ensued in which Admiral Kelly, Mr. Brodrick, the chair.
man, and other proprietors took part, in the course of
which it was stated that the agreement with the London.
and North-Western would be for a term of years, renew-
able at the end of 25 years in case the amalgation should
not be sanctioned by Parliament.
On the motion of the CHAIRMAN, a formal resolution
approving the bill was carried unanimously, and the
meeting separated.