The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-31 00:00:00

SCOTCH RAILWAYS.

on the 110 miles in operation during that period, are
at the rate per mile of 1,3201. per annum, or 251/. per
week.
Caledonian—Cost of construction, 34,5001. per mile
—to pay 5 per cent. on which, after deducting half of
the traffic for wurking expenses, requires per mile
3,4501. per annum, or 66 1-31. per week. The last re-
turns give an average on 159 miles of 1,7231. per
annum, or 331. per mile.
Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee (late Edinburgh
and Northern)—Cost of construction, 28,500/ per
mile—to pay 5 per cent. on which, after deduction of
half traffic for working expenses, require a revenue
per mile of 2,8501. per annum, or nearly 551. per
week. By last half-year's returns, the average
revenue on each of the 71 miles in operation is
1,4701. per annum or 27 1 3/. per week.
Scottish Centrai—Cost of construction, 30,3001.—
to pay S per cent. on which, after deducting half of
traffic for working expenses, requires a revenue per
mile of 3,030/. per annum, or upwards of 581. per
mile. Owing to the manner in which the revenue
strictly belonging to this line is, in the directors'
report, intermixed with the transactions with the so-
called guaranteeing companies,
,we cannot state the
case with precision ; but as nearly as we can extri-
cate the requisite items from the mass, the revenue
proper per mile is somewhat under 1,3001. per
annum, or 251. per week.
The Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr has received so
much additional mileage during the last few months
that we cannot get a sufficiently long period without
alteration from which to draw safely similar results
to the above. Of the hundred miles or so at present
working, the cost of construction per mile has been
about 20,,600/., to pay five per cent. on which, after
deducting half traffic for working expenses, requires
a revenue per mile of 2,600/. per annum, or above 51/.
per week; • The return for lasteweek-0-0:711 =mist be
remembered that all the returns at 'this season Ire
above the annual avdTage).gives 1,5601. per (annum or
301, per week. The annual average' (if ire had avail-
able returns for six consecutive months, as in the other"
cases) would probably give about 1,4004* per annum,l
or 271. per week.
The other lines in operation being comparatively
small in extent, and access to their acceunts &c.;
being difficult, we leave them untouched, only re-
marking that the. position of none of them differs
materially from that of the lines whose statistics are
given above, and that generally they stand on a lower
rather than a higher' level.
These results, it will not be difficult to see, are, at
the first glance at least, very discouraging. On an
average, the Scotch lines would, unless our data are
very erroneous, require double the present traffic to
pay five per cent. on their capital. It is remarkable
how nearly this average holds in the .case of each
separate line, with one eiception. The proportions
in which the traffic of each line would require to
increase in order to reach the paying point are these :
—Edinburgh and kllasgow would require, to increase,
as from 57 to 88i ; North British, from 25' to 64
3tths ; Caledonian, from 33 to 66i-;_ Edinburgh,
Perth, and Dundee, from 27i to 55; Central,' from
25 to 58 ; Ayrshire, from 27 to 51. ,
This, however, is but a rough sketch—other ele-
ments must be taken into account, materially modi-
fying the above results, both positively and compaa-
tively. We shall do little more than mention the
principal of these, not intending these remarks as a
guide to investers, and not having the means of at-
taining accuracy on many important details.
Ist, The Amount of Guaranteed or Preferential
Capital—This element, it will, easily be seen, greatly
affects the results as shown only in the traffic returns.
A company with a comparatively large return per
mile may, as regatds its ordinary shareholders, be in
a worse position than one with a smaller return, if
the former has guarantees
_and preferences to pay,
and the latter little or none. Without attempting
a precise . statement, we ;re safe in saying that
the line most heavily burdened in this respect is the
Caledonian, which has td pay several guaran-
tees of 6, if, 8, and on one quar:er of a million
of capital 101 per cent., before paying anything to its
ordinary' shareholders. The next heaviest sufferer is
the Edinburgh and. Glasgow, whose troubles in this
respect are only about to begin. The least burdened
is probably the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, which
guarantees no separate line, but has 600,0001. of
preference stock at iii- and 5 per cent. not yet issued.
2d, The Working Expenses—These vary much on
different lines, according to length, number of
branches, &c. Probably, the Edinburgh, Perth, and
Dundee will be among the dearest to work, and the
North British and Caledonian the cheapest. It must
also be considered that the general average we have
taken—firty per cent. on a gross traffic which would
produce ten per cent. on the capital—is high; and
that most of the companies could take great additions
to their present traffic without material additions to
the present working expenses.
3d, The stage of development—This item is of
peculiar importance in the case of railway's like the
Scotch, almost all of which are in a raw and un-
'finished state. Lines whose resources are fully de-
veloped, or are likely in future to be lessened by the
competition of neighbours, stand in a very different
position from those whose construction is uncoms
plated, and which have not yet had time to develope
their traffic. It would, for instance, be fallacious to
compare the present traffic of the Edinburgh and
Glasgow, even after allowing for the greater cost of
construction, with the traffic of such lines as the
North British or Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee,
large portions of which have only been a few months
in operation, and which have not reached all their
termini, nor got their arrangements in smooth and
effective working order.
The very important question that now arises, as to
whether there is a probability of the traffic of the new
lines coming, within any resonable period, to the pay-
ing point, admits of a more hopeful answer than a
mere glance at the above figures would seem to war-
rant. The development of the traffic of railways is a
somewhat slow, but, according to all past experience,
a very sure process. The following table, which we
have compiled, showing the rise and progress of the
Edinburgh and Glasgow line, may carry consolation to
the shareholders even in those lines whose traffic is as
yet but half-way to five per cent. The Glasgow line
was opened for the whole length from the Haymarket
to Glasgow on the 21st of February, 1842, and the
traffic developed as here shown :

Total for ' ‘Veekly Ilato per Per
Six Ave- Mile per Mile
Months. rage. Annum. Wkly.
Ist half-ay,iar, 59,994 2307 1304 50
2(1 60,809 2333 1322 51
31 57,000 2192 1239 47
4th 55,836 2149 1215 46
sth ---- 61,047 2347 1327 51
6:h 66,288 2549 1411 51
7th 73,273 2818 1593 61
Bth 82,744 3182 1798 69
9th 99,843 3840 2100 81
[o.h 89,287 3434 1869 72
lth 90,815 3496 1902 73
2th 80,332 3090 1700 65
3:h 88,532 3305 1883 70

It may be said that there is not much material for
hope here, seeing that the B linburgh and Glasgow
line had at the very first a traffic nearly double that
at present possessed by some Scotch lines, and a third
more than that possessed by any of them, and that
even cow its prospects are not very encouraging. But
it must be tlken into calculation, Ist, that its cost of
construction is also double some and a third more than
any Scotch line, so that one-half or a third less traffic
per mile on others represents an equivalent amount of
prosperity ; and 2d, that with the exception of the
mile and a half from the Haymarket to the North-
bridge, it opened complete, while almost none of the
new lines have yet attained to a corresponding position.
It must also be taken into consideration, in estimat-
ing the probable progress of development of the new
lines, that they have hitherto seen nothing but " bad
times." Cholera has been against them, and still
more "calls." Both evils are now nearly at an end,
though the effects of the latter will linger for a while.
The money sunk in railways has been in great part
taken from that fund out of which travelling expenses
are mainly taken—viz., spare funds or accumulations.
The money so sunk has not yet become reproductive,
there being in this respect a sort of dead-lock--a large
portion
of the funds from which railway revenues
come being the very funds locked up in the capital.
All this, however, will gradually work itself right—
but it would be more than difficult to say how soon,
how fast, or how far.—Scotsman.

RE-OPSNING OF THE ASTOR, THEATRE, 'NEW
yoßg.—This, the most fashionable theatre of New
York, which had remained closed ;duce M.acready
made his last appearance there, on which occasion
a dreadful riot occurred, and several lives were
last, was re-opened about the middle of September. The
play was Romeo and Juliet, Mis 3 Davenport, who had
arrived from England only a few days be-
fore, appearing as Juliet, and achieving a tri-
umph which has completely restored to the Astor
Theatre its popularity. She subsequently appeared as
Julia in the Hunchback, as Meeta in the Maid of
Mariendorpt, and as Mariana in the Wife, and drew
crowded houses on every occasion of her appearance.
The New York journals speak in the most enthusiastic
terms of her performances. Miss Davenport has
accepted engagements to appear at Boston, Philadelphia,
and Baltimore.