The Sun.
London, England, 1849-08-18 00:00:00

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LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)
The usual half-yearly general meeting of the pro-
prietors of the London and South-Western Railway
was held this afternoon, at the Nine Elms Station ;
Mr. William Chaplin, M.P., Chairman of the Board
of Directors, in the chair.
The advertisement having been read, the minutes
of the past proceedings were proposed to be con-
firmed, when
Mr. WILSON CROCKER objected to that part of
them which related to the steam-boat guarantee. It
was, perhaps, not generally known that most of the
proxies used by the chairman in support of that
guarantee were forwarded to him for another purpose,
namely, to support the election of two gentlemen who
were candidates for seats in the direction.
The CHAIRMAN said the Hon. Proprietor was in
error.
Sir J. EASTHOPE took that opportunity, not having
been present at the last meeting, of thanking the pro-
prietors for the compliment they had paid him, hi
formally acknowledging the services he had rendered
the concern in the capacity of chairman and director.
He explained that his retirement from the direction
arose out of the pressure of his other business avo-
cations. _ _

The minutes were then confirmed.
Mr. WrsDnAm HARDING then read the following
report of the directors :
" From the uccounts which are in the hands of the
shareholders, it will be seen that the traffic for the half-
year, ending on the 30. h June, amounts to £254,627
The expanses, including rates and taxes, to ... 126,752

" The c imprison with the corresponding half-Sear is
as follows :

Increase in 1849.
Traffic for the half-yelr ending June, 1848,
208 9941.; June, 1849, 254,6274 ... £15,633
Expenditure for the ha!f•;yvar ending June,
1848, 113,370/ ; June, 1849, 126,7521.

8,382

Increase of net revenue therefor© ... £37,231
" Average Lumber !.f miles open for the half year end.
ing June, 1848, 194; June, 1849, 219.
tt The increase of expr.diture in 1849 arises entirely
from the increased number of miles of railway, the
mai it, nonce (f which is eh Argeab!e en revenue.
"The balance disposable for dividend is 108,660/. 3s. 33.
This halirn.le remains after the payment of all interests
on czepital, whether troductive or unproductive, except
inter'st at he rate of 41 per cent. for six months on the
413.e471 laid out on the twenty miles of railway in ac-
tual progre ,s of construceion durin4 the past half-year,
and which will be open for traffic before the close of the
present month.
" elc and share capital entitled to dividend
thispelf-year, is 6,521,368?.1
" The Cir. ctors, therefore, recommend that a dividend
after the rate) of 31 per cent. per annum (or Ids. 3 on
501.) he declared, Lino:lilting to 105 972/. 4s. 7d , and
leasi,et a balance to he carried in the next half-year of
26871? 18s. 81.
"It iik,w becamei the duty of the directors to make. a
few o'-!serva.ions on the increase of the share capital
entitled to dividend this halt-year as compared with the
last.
The capital now entitled to dividend is ... ,C 6,521,368
The capital so entitle). nix:in 31st December
1113; was ... ••• 3,707,335

The additional amount, therefore, entitled to
dividend this half-year is ... £2,814,033
" The shareholders have always been aware that,
from the terms under which they have, from time to
time, resolved to meke their seveaal issues of capital,
this large addition to the amount entitled to a dividend
woul I arise at this time. It has already been shown
th,t there is an increase of 37,2511. in the net revenue
of tins present half year, as compared with the corre-
spordin; six months of 1848; and, consequently, it is to
the increase of capital now entitled to dividend, that
tee diminution of the rate of dividend is to be attributed,
and not to any falling off of revenue or increase of ex-
pense.
" This capital, it will be remembered, consists, firstly'
of new 501. and 401. shares (created under resolutions
passed by the proprietors on the 7th of December, 1844)
on which, and the tenths (created under resolutions of
the proprietors, passed 29th August, 1846). the first
dividend, payable from revenue, was to be calculated
from the Ist day of January (or July) next after the
opening of the Waterloo Extension, that is, on the Ist
January, 1849; and, secondly, of such amounts as have
been call-d upon the Thirds -(1847), (created under reso-
lutions of the proprietors of 17th November, 184), on
30,h Decsmb'r, 1848, and 30th March, 1849.
" To avoid misapprehension, it is right to remark
that the item of 52,163/. 133. for interest, in the capital
expenditure of the past half year, includes the payment
of interest on the new 501. and 401. shares of 1845, and
the Tenths, to December 31st, IS4B, such payment
being, by the terms of the creation of the shares, to be
borne by capital until the shares cams in for dividend.
Capital thus bears no portion of the burden of interest
which is chargeable on the revenue of the past half
year; while the revenue is charged with the interest on
a large unproductive expenditure.
" The directors therefore have satisfaction in being
able to refer to the report of the auditors, showing that
the capital account has not been burdened to augment
the amount applicable to dividend—a point which has re-
cently excited a more than ordinary degree of anxiety
among railway proprietors.
" The branches from Guildford to Godalming and
Farnham, and the loop line to Hounslow, will be opened
for traffic during the present month.
" The company will, after this present month, there-
fore, not have a single new line or branch in progress.
" As regards the lines now suspended, or not com-
menced, the directors will repeat the assurance they
gave in November last, viz., that no further engage-
ments in relation to those lines will be entered into until
the matter shall have been again formally submitted to
the reconsideration of the proprietors, specially convened
fur that purpose, and until the whole of the shareholders
shall have an opportunity of recording their votes, and
a decided majority shall have determined in favour of
the prosecution of the undertaking.'
"At the last
.meeting, the directors pledged them-
selves to enforce the most rigid economy consistent with
the efficiency of the service. This they have done, and
as the salaries and wages formed a large item in the ex-
penditure, they were reluctantly compelled to reduce the
scale of payment throughout the establishment, taking
the larger proportionate amounts from the higher
salaries. In determining upon these measures, the direc-
tors resolved to take no remuneration for their own ser-
vices during the last six months. The directors are
glad to acknowledge the ready acquiescence with
which the reduc ion was generally met, as well as the
faithful and zealous service rendered by every officer
and servant of the establishment, no less since thsn be-
fore the reduction.
" The shareholders are aware that a Bill was intro-
duced by Lord Monteagle in the last session of Parlia-
ment, in der the tide cf a Railway Audit Bill.
"The effect of this meausure would have been to im-
pose permanently on railway companies the expense and
inconvenience of a large Government staff of officials,
and to transfer that power, which the shareholders alone
have a right to exercise, to a Government board, wanting
in the experience requisite for the successful conduct of
commercial transactions. The directors therefore felt
bound, with others, to oppose it, and the Bill was with •
drawn in the House of Commons. At the same time
they desire that the shareholders should have the fullest
power of audit and examination; and it is proposed
to hold a meeting of the representatives of different
companies, to consider if any further provisions are
really necessary to secure this object.
" In the meantime, in order to secure a thorough
examination of the accounts of this company, the direc-
tors beg to state, that knowing the laborious nature of'
the duties of the auditors, when thoroughly performed,
and the length of time which had been devoted to the
task on a former occasion by the present auditors, they
thought it right to offer to defray whatever expenses
the auditors might incur in obtaining the assistance of
a professional accountant; they, however, preferred to
perform themselves the task committed to them by the
shareholders, and have accordingly done so, as their
report explains.
" The maintenance of the working stock of the rail-
way to its full efficient value has attraetLd a degree of
attention proportioned to the importance of the subject.
It has been the practice of this company, from the open-
ing of the line, to keep up, at the expense of revenue, the
engines, carriages, &c., either by replacing those worn
out by an entirely new article, or, as the case might de-
mand, by the renewal of those parts requiring it. New
engines, carriages, and waggons have thus been added
from time to time to the original stock at the expense of
revenue, and this principle will continue to be strictly
carried out in future.
" The maintenance of the rails and permanent road is
a subject of not less importance.
" In respect to the wooden sleepers, as symptoms of
decay appear, they have been, and will continue to be,
replaced by new sleepers, at the cost of revenue. The
rails are, generally, in excellent order.
" It is to be remarked, that the present contract prices
for the maintenance of the permanent way aro high.
This arises from these contracts having been the first en-
tered into after the opening of the respective lines, when
thewprks were untried, and in some cases not thoroughly
completed; a very largo reduction under this head will
consequently be effected at the termination of the year
1850, when the present contracts expire. When this
period arrives, therefore, and the revenue is relieved
from the additional expense under this head peculiar to
the first years of a railway, will be proper to consider
what provision should be L'aidefu r the expense of ex-
arichase tnging the old rails for new as the necessity shall
or doi.
.1 The applications to Parliament, which the
intoprie-
t)rs sanctioned at the last meeting, were successively
prosecuted. Under the amended Act of the last session
the proprietors are authorised to alter the half-yearly
periods at which the accounts of the company have
hitherto been made up; and thus a more equal division
of the halt yearly earnings and dividends of the company
may, wino the proprietors see fit, he effected. An im
portent
alteration
and a fuller
has also bean made in the right of
voting by proprietors at general meetings,
representation has been given to those whose holdings
are small in amount, by the adoption of the scale of
veting of the Company's Clauses ConFolidation Act.
" The directors cannot e. nclude this report without
adverting case more to the present state of the com-
pany's financial pesition.
" The d for the pest haFiear is less than they
ha 3 antic'patf d, end the eir.ctors, in common with the

proprietors generally, feel sensibly the disappointment
arising from this cause ; but it must be borne in mind
that the company has virtually no outstanding liabilities,
nor any obligations to other companies or parties beyond
its own control ; all the new lines in progress of con •
struction are brought to a close, or will be so in the pre-
sent month, and these lines are provided in working
stock, the whole of which, with very trifling exceptions,
is paid for. Thus the directors feel enabled to state
with confidence, that from this period the affairs of the
company will progressively amend, and as there can never
be,!without the distinct authority of the proprietors, given
as it must be assumed for beneficial objects, a recurrence
of a period when the capital entitled to dividend shall be
so great in proportion to the earnings as at the close of
the present half-year, so the directors believe it may
safely be predicted that at no future period will the
affairs of the company be in a state of such depression as
at present. At all events, the proprietors may feel cn•
tire confidence, that the undisguised truth is before them,
and that no effort has been made to conceal or qualify
the real state of the property or prospects of the come
pany."
The CHAIRMAN, in moving the adoption of the
report, observed that it would be bad taste on his part
were he to occupy much time after the lengthened
report. Much might be said on the depression which
the country had recently suffered from, or the pros-
pects there were of the company's returning to a
state of prosperity ; but the gentlemen before him
were too well versed in commercial matters, too
well acquainted with the causes of that depression,
and the influences that affected railways, to
render it necessary for him to dwell upon
these topics. He should be content to allow the re-
port to speak for itself, without being explained by a
single remark from him, but there were one or two
points which he could not refrain from touching
upon.—(Hear, hear.) The proprietors were aware
that the half-year they had just closed was the
worst of the two, and yet their traffic had not in
any way fallen off. To no circumstance of that
sort could the diminution of the dividend be attri-
buted, as the accounts, which were true, simple, and
correct, would show. If there was ore thing more
than another that his board was proud of, it was the
fact that they had never had recourse to unfair or
nefarious means for increasing the dividend.—(llear.)
The dividends v hich the proprietors had hitherto
enjoyed he would stake his reputation had been paid
out of the real and bona fide earnings of the railway,
and the only cause that could now be assigned for its
reduction on this occasion was the fact, that this half-
year the capital participating in the dividend had
been increased by no less a sum than 2,800,000/.
—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") Some few years back
the rage for new lines compelled this. company to
hament,
he
project schemes and promote projects..marPdarwile
Parliament,
to keep rivals out of their territor 3 ,
was quite ready to admit that many of the past acts
of the board were highly censurable and erroneous,
they were not alone to blame for the increase in the
capital.—(Hear, hear.) Having adverted to the in-
troduction of Lord .konteagle's Bill, which he con-
sidered highly objectionable, the Hon. Gentleman
went on to propose, that the accountants and some of
the principal proprietors should be requested
to attend an aggregate meeting of railway
officials to consider the best means of se-
curing the best audit of railway accounts, and
further stated that the legal expenses of the
company had been greatly reduced and liquidated.
while the company was in the satisfactory situation
of having no schemes to submit to Parliament in the
next ses,ion of Parliament.—(Cheers.) It only re-
mained for him to mention that a great saving would
shortly be effected in the maintenance of the permanent
way, and in order that the proprietors might
form some idea of what that saving would be he
would just state that a contractor had undertaken to
keep up the permanent way between London and
Southampton, including all the new lines, fir 17,5001.
a year, which would effect a saving upon the existing
system of no less a sum than 30,0001. per annum.
.Mr. UPCUFT said he was quite convinced that
the public would never have confidence in the under-
taking until its affairs had been thoroughly investi-
gated by a committee who should be entirely inde-
pendent of the directors.
Mr. SMITH wanted to know when the proprietors
were likely to reap any advantage from the
goods traffic ? He was afraid the com-
pany would never derive anything from that
traffic until the company adopted the
system in operation on the London and North-
Western and South-Eastern lines, and became their
own carriers.— (Hear, hear.)
The CHAIRMAN said that question bad been in-
vestigated by a committee of directors, whose report
would now be read.

The report was on the whole in favour of the pre-
sent system,' but the committee had not pursued
the inquiry to a sufficient extent to enable them
to decide whether it would be advisable for the com-
pany to become their own carriers.
Mr. BARER thought there was something wrong in
the goods system, or the returns from that source
would have been more instead of less than those of
the London and Brighton Company.
Mr. ALEXANDER KAT, a member of a deputation
appointed from Manchester to attend this meeting,
having. blamed and strongly censured the directors
for the extravagant guarantees they had given to
tributary lines, proceeded to ask the following ques-
tions :—First, can the capital accounts of the lines
completed be finally closed ? Secondly, what allow-
ance do the directors receive from tributary lines ?

Thirdly, has any attempt been made to slow the
profit and loss on the Richmond and 'Windsor
lines ? Fourthly, whether, now that all the
lines are completed, the board of directors cannot be
reduced and a managing director appointed; and
lastly, %hat are the liabilities and engagements of the
company ? He complained of the large amount of
preferential shares that had been created, which were
understood to have been distributed amongst the di-
rectors and officials, and of the pass system, which
enabled each director to claim a transferrable pass
over the line.
The CHAIRMAN said it was proposed to close the
entire capital account of the working plant in Febru-
ary next, providing for any extra outlay by obtaining
votes of money from the proprietors from time to time
as they were required.
Mr. Sergeant GASELER did not think that would
be satisfactory.
Sir JOHN EASTHOPE took the declaration of the
chairman to be virtually that the capital account of
the company would be closed next February.
The CHAIRMAN—Yes, that is it, reserving open
works to be provided for as I have stated.—(Cheers.)
Mr. Sergeant GASELEE had misunderstood the
statement of the chairman. What he had now stated
wag perfectly satisfactory.
The CHAIR MAN then proceeded to answer Mr. Kay's
questions. The dircctors received no remuneration
from the new line. With regard to the earnings of
the lines, they stood thus—
London to Southampton
Richmond and Windsor ... .
Hampton Court (2 miles)...
Cbertsey (21- miles) ...
Guildford (6 miles) ...
Gosport (16 miles) •••
Portsmouth (9 miles) ...
Salisbury (22 miles) ...
Dorchester (63 miles) ...

... Z 167,686
... 28,878
... 564
... 291
... 2,527
... 9,900
... 4,900
••• 10,180
... 23,200

With regard to the shares held by the directors, o,
old shares all paid up, they held to the extent of
576,0001., and of the perferential 7 per cent. stock
31,0001.—(Cheers.)
After some further discussion, which was protracted
to a very late hour, the motion for the adoption of
the report was put and carried.
The dividend was then declared payable on an early
day, and thanks having been voted to the chairman,
the meeting terminated.

MINING INTELLIGENCE.
(From the Mining Journal of this day.)
The amount of business which has been done lately,
and the expected advance in copper and tin, have given
a tone of firmness to the mining share market. Public
confidence appears to be gaining, and it only requires a
stability is our metal market to arrive at business both
safe and permanent. The consequent inquiry for divi-
dend and leading mines is strong evidence that the mining
interest is not likely to be so disregarded as it has hitherto
been.

In Tincroft there has been some considerable business
done since our last, the reports from the mine more than
confirming the discoveries referred to in last week's
notice. Treleigh, Trelawny, Bedford, and East and
South Tamar, have been in request, and business
done. In the latter, a large number of shares have
changed hands at an advance. Inquiries are
also being made for East Wheal Rose, North Pool,
South Basset, South Francis, and West Caradon,
In Kingsett and Bedford some considerable improve-
ments are said to have been reported, and shares have
found buyers. A requisition for convening a special
general meeting has been signed by several adventures.
North Roskear, Comfort, Treviskey and Barrier, and
West Caradon, are among the mines lately represented
as improved.
Shares in the following mines have changed hands
since our last, viz.; East Wheel Rose, Devon Great
Consols, Trelawny, Treviskey and Barrier, South sset,
Tincroft, Bedford United, Mary Ann, Treleigh, Ba
South
Tamar, Tregorden, East Tamar, Tamar Consols, Esgair
Llee, Wellington, South Tolgus, West Providence, Tro-
hane, Kingsett and Bedford, &c.
Wheal Mary Ann adventurers audited their accounts
for March, April, and May, on the Bth instant, showing
a profit of 5571. 11s. on the three months' workings,
which, with the balance from last account, carries a
credit
of 1,017/. 19s. Bd. to the next meeting, when a
dividend may be fully expected. Tho mine is now re-
presented to be in a better position than hitherto seen,
and capable of returning 65 to 70 tens per month, and,
from present appearances, may be considered a perma-
nent and paying mine.
Wheal Trehane two ra n %meeting was held on the
9th inst. The accounts for March and April show a
balance in favour of the adventurers of 6471. 13s. 9d. A
dividend of 30g. per share was declared,paid forth-
with. We learn that some new steam machinery is about
being erected, for which a reservation has lice
the funds. The agent's report represents the' L'led