The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-26 00:00:00

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

EASTERN COUNTIES.

The ordinary half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of
this company took place yesterday at the London Ta-
vern—D. Waddington, Esq., in the chair.
The report, an abstract of which has already appeared
in the Bun, was taken as read.
The CHAIRMAN, in proposing its adoption, observed
that there were one or two items in the document so sa-
tisfactory that he could not refrain from alluding to
them. The first was the report of the manager of the
locomotive and carriage shops at Stratford, Mr. Gooch,
who as they would have seen, had been able to run the
large additional amount of mileage stated in the report
at a less cost than had been charged for the correspond-
ing half of the last year. (Hear.) And the other was
the report of Mr. Ashcroft, the superintendent of ways
and works, who during the severe weather and heavy
floods they had experienced in the course of the last
winter, had been enabled out of the sum set, which had
been laid down as the future charge for the maintenance
and repair of the permanent way, viz., 901, a mile per
annum, to keep the line in an efficient state, and to add
to the depreciation fund connected with his department,
3,4221. during the half year. (Hear, hear.) This was
a result, he believed, unequalled in the case of any other
railway in the kingdom. At this particular juncture, when
the whole of the railways of the country had been shaken
to their centres, and when distrust prevailed in the pub-
lic mind in respect to railway property in general, he
thought it his duty to call the attention of the proprie-
tors to the last four balance sheets which had been issued
by the directors of this company, not only as showing
that their traffic was steadily increasing, but as enabling
them to form a correct notion of what would be their
future expenditure. On referring to the report issued on
the 4th of July, 1851, they would find that their gross
earnings for the half-year were 366,9211. In the report
of the same date, 1852, they were stated at 391,1751.,
and in the report issued on the 4th July this year they
amounted to 425,5961. (Cheers.) The charges for lo-
comotive plant, permanent way, and miscellaneous ex-
penses in the same three half-years were 189,9151.,
162,3141., and 161,3441. respectively. And with regard
to the net revenue, they would find that they had a ba-
lance on the first half of the year 1851 of 5,6241. ; on
the same, half of the year 1852 of 53,2321. ; and on the
half-year just closed of 82,3751. (Cheers.) And this
82,3751. or about 75,0001. more than had been earned
in the corresponding half-year of 1851, had been earned
without the addition of a single shilling to the expendi-
ture incurred in the former period. (Hear, hear.) He
would now turn to the charge for interest on guarantees
and loans. In the report of the 4th of July, 1851, their
liabilities under this head were 152,9391. ; in that of
1852 they were 153,598/. ; and in the present report
they were 151,7901. Thus while their gross income had
increased to 425,5961. as compared with 366,9211. in the
corresponding half of 1851, and with 391,1751. as com-
pared with the corresponding half of 1852, their total
expenses for locomotion, rates, taxes, and all other
charges, exclusive of interest, had been 208,358/. for the
first half-year of 1851, 177,6451. for the same half of
1852, and 180,5311. for the past half-year. (Hear, hear.)
And the total charge for interest on loans and guarantees
had decreased by several hundred pounds. From this
statement which showed that notwithstanding the in-
crease of traffic, the expenditure had remained.about the
same as in the last year, and were considerably less
than in 1851, they would be enabled to judge how far
the growing increase of revenue earned upon the Eastern
Counties system of railways was liable to be diminished
by any increase of the working expenses. In most
other companies, as they were aware, the large addi-
tional receipts consequent upon the more complete de-
velopment of the traffic had been swallowed up by the
additional working expenses ; but their report showed
that in the past half-year, of 34,441/. Os. Bd., which
was the amount of the surplus earnings, 29,1431. 6s. 2d.
was divisible amongst the proprietors. (Hear, hear.)
And comparing the current half-year with the half-year
ending July, 1853, the result would be still more favour-
able as regarded the comparison of 'this with the corre-
sponding half-year of 1852, because in the past half-
year they had six months of *the Great Northern gua-
rantee, amounting to 4,2001., in excess of the corre-
sponding half-year ending 4th January, 1852 ; whereas
the half-year they were now in, corresponding with the
half-year ending January, 1853, the amount charged
would be less that excess. Looking back, then, from
week to week, to what the receipts had been in the
few weeks that had passed of the current half-year, and
comparing them with the receipts of the corresponding
weeks of 1852—knowing what the fixed charges were—
that they would be about the same as they had been in
the half-year ending January, 1853, there was every
reason for believing that there would be a considerable
increase in the dividend. (Cheers.) The only item to
which they would have to direct attention in the way
of expense was the locomotive charge ; for in the other
items there was no increase of any consequence to be
anticipated, and in the locomotive department the total
expense in the past half-year had been 61,8451., and
there must be a very considerable per tentage upon
that to militate to any extent against their growing
receipts. If they looked back to the account of the
half-year ending January, 1853, they would find that
the dividend of 6s. a share then paid, was all earned
during the half-year except some 2001. or 3001.
taken from the reserve fund, and in the half-year they
were now in, so far as they had gone into it, they found
that their average earnings were 17,4001. a week, being
an average increase about 2,4001. a week, and if they
went on to the end of the half year increasing as they had
done, or at all approaching to what they were now, there
could be no doubt, unless some casualty occurred which
no one could count upon, that the next year he should
have the pleasure of congratulating them upon a very
large increase in the dividend over that of the cones.
ponding period of the last year. He would now call
attention to the future prospects of the company in re-
ference to the new sources of traffic which were about
to be opened to them. The first of these sources was the
line from 'Tilbury to Southend, which he had been in-
formed would be opened in about a month. In connec-
tion with that line arrangements had been made for a
steam ferry from Tilbury to Gravesend, similar to the
Eastern Counties steam ferry at Woolwich ; and steam-
boats of the first-class were preparing also to run be-
tween Tilbury Fort and Margate. When that line was
opened, and all these arrangements were completed, it
was impossible to doubt that a very large addition would
be brought to the revenue of the Eastern Counties
Company, and that without one shilling of outlay on
their part in the shape of capital. The line to Harwich,
which it had been expected would be opened on the Ist
of May, he had understood might possibly be delayed
somewhat later, in consequence of the difficulty of ob-
taining labour to carry on the works with that energy
and expedition that had been intended. It would
be superfluous for him to speak of the large increase
of traffic that was taking place between the Eastern ports
with which their line was connected and Rotterdam, Os-
tend, and other parts of the continent, for they were fami-
liar with that subject, but there was one of the continental
lines—the Danish line of railway—which he was assured
would be opened early in the next year, the importance
of which, to them, they could scarcely sufficiently appre-
ciate. That railway would place that part of the north of
Europe nearer to this country by way of Lowestoft than
by any other route ; and as steam-boats were now being
placed on various parts of the Baltic, they might safely
calculate upon a large source of revenue being opened up
to them from the traffic with that part of the world, and
that without any additional expense to them. (Hear.)
Then the Fenchurch-street station would be opened in
the course of a few months, when they would have an
additional line of rails between Stratford and Blackwell,
and an independent station at the Fenchurch• street ter-
minus similar to that at Shoreditch, which was abso-
lutely necessary to accommodate the increased residential
and pleasure traffic on their lines. The Victoria docks,
upon which a million of money was being expended, not
a shilling of which had they to contribute—and the
Woodford hue, for which the act had been obtained last
session, would also be important feeders to the Eastern
Counties lines, and looking to all these various sources,
he thought they were justified in calculating upon a very
large increase of traffic, and except the Woodford line,
the new station, and about 18,0001. at Wisbeach, with-
out expense. (Hear, hear.) And they should also recol-
lect that no company at the present moment was obtain-
ing money on easier terms than they were. Refer-
ring to the report of Mr. Cardwell's committee, he
thought it impossible for the railway public to over-
estimate the clauses which recommended the mode
in which Parliament should deal with railway bills
for the future. The result of those recommenda-
tions, if acted upon, would be to prevent the dete-
rioration of railway property by guarantees for
useless schemes, generally got up by country soli-
citors and their friends with the view, not of carrying
them out, but of forcing them upon one or other of the
existing companies. He trusted that railway companies
generally would ere long understand the evil effects that
arose from that spirit of competition which had en-
couraged schemes of this nature, and seeing the advantages
that resulted from making amicable arrangements with
neighbouring lines for the development of traffic, would
profit by the example of others and follow the same
course. He could not conclude without stating, that it
was his conviction and that of his colleagues in the di-
rection, that the company was now in a state of progres-
sive
confidence and
and that if the directors retained the
and co-operation of the proprietors, it would
—when the various new lines and new sources of traffic
opened, which would be next year—soon become
The motionuenortrYti;
one of the most prosperous and best dividend paying
lines in the co
Dr. O'RRILLY expressed
e adoption of the report having been
(Cheers.)
capital account was not ciohseiad,
and seconded, '
dainsdapup:tiinitimt
wasent htheaetouthlde
hope for any perrnaneanir management, nor could he
c the
iaincrease of dividend. He
have no confidence in
price of coke and other
r:ate at which money could
ad
heavilaorgler dividend than
thought, considerin
items of expense, and the
toloia
d suggest that a
be borrowed, they ought
ss. a share, and until they h
salwarhyi—ch
reduction should be made in the
(gc oh, oh")--and he complained of ti7ealraa
during the last half-year had been made to the capital
account, upwards of 100,000 e
The CHAIRMAN had stated before that, if they desired
accounts, which
that
might
to go on increasing the traffic, they must add to their
capital account ; but he had promised that a detailed
givenas done ofin the any
increase
•, but
68,8911.
showedstakestatement
n Ipleantehte the addition shouldaand dditi b n
thatoe w t
o be not upwards of.loo 000/
A PROPRIETOR complained of the charge
and said the made by the
stockbrokers on transferring shares,
direc-
tors ought to devise some plan for putting an end to
those charges, or at all events of reducing them to the
rate charged for transferring consols.
the Norfolk
Mr. MCLAREN entered his usual protest against that
portion of the accounts which referred to
Railway, He was glad, however, to find that the loss