The Sun.
London, England, 1849-09-01 00:00:00

EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY.
The first half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of the
Eastern Counties Railway under the existing direction,
and the twenty-sixth of the company, was held yes-
terday, at the Londoa Tavern ; Mr. Edward Ladd
Betts, Chairman of the New Board of Directors, in the
chair. The meeting was very numerously attended, the
large room of the tavern being quite full, the gallery
included. _ _ _

The business of the day was commenced by the se-
cretary (C. P. Roney, Esq.) reading the advertisement
convening the meeting, after which the seal of the com-
pany was attached to the register of proprietors.
The CHAIRMAN then said—Gentlemen, the directors
have embodied in their report before you as fully as they
can their views at the present time consistently with
the period they have been in oflce.—(Hear.) And that
circumstance, gentlemen, renders it unnecessary for me
to address you further than to say that I shall be most
happy, after Mr. Roney has read the report, which he
will now proceed to do, to answer any questions any
Honourable Proprietor may wish to put.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. RONEY then read the following report:—
" The directors have to report to the proprietors, that
immediately after their special general meeting on the
13tla July last, at which eight new directors were nomi-
nated, the then existing board of directors took the
requisite steps prescribed by the Act of Parliament for
the admission of the new members, so that on Monday,
the 16th of July, the latter were enabled to take their
seats, and to enter upon the duties of office, in conjunc•
tion with the remaining members of the old board. The
number of directors will, in compliance with the wishes
of the proprietors, be reduced to twelve, and the proper
steps for this purpose are being taken in accordance with
the Act of Parliament, and will be brought to a close
prior to the meeting on the 31st inst.
" The new directors would but ill deserve the confi-
dence reposed in them, if, at so early a period after their
election, they assumed to be sufficiently informed upon
all the extensive affairs of the company, to enable them
to recommend a specific course of action upon all sub-
jects of interest to the proprietors, but they are prepared
to state the principles upon which any future recom-
mendations from them will be founded.
" These may be stated as follows:
" 1. To close the capital account, and thus terminate
the principal cause of the undefined condition of the com-
pany's affairs; not that it is pretended the capital ac-
count will remain unaltered, for surplus land will have
to be sold, and works may from time to time be neces-
sary. All debits and credits in these respects, will, how-
ever, appear distinctly and separately in each half-yearly
statement, and be easily comprehended; and when the
eapifal account is thus closed, its amount shall not be
materiailly augmented without the consent of the pro-
prietors.
" 2. To ascertain the value of the fixed and rolling
stock, and every description of property which may be
realisable. This valuation will be essential to enable the
proprietors to form an opinion as to the amount of future
net profits to be divided.
" 3. To bring the working expenses into such a system
of account that an increase in any department may be
effectually and instantly checked. Such a system must
be introduced before any great change can be effected for
the improvement of the concern.
" 4. To arrange the accounts so that the net profits,
the assets, and liabilities may each half-year be clearly
shown, and easily understood.
" 5. Not to divide anything but clear net profits, after
keeping up effectually the rolling stock, and setting aside
sufficient to provide for deterioration of permanent way,
works, and stations.
" It is believed these principles will be found appli-
cable to all questions which may arise in respect to the
property.
" It would have been more satisfactory to the direc-
tors could they have had time to rerocelel the accounts
now submitted for the past half-year; but they feel it
is due to the shareholders to lay them as early as pos-
sible, in the best form they are able, before the proprie-
tary. These accounts, prepared by Messrs. Quilter,
Bell, and Co., and audited by Mr. Reeves, the only
auditor at present are submitted to the meeting, and
may be regarded as fairly and correctly representing the
revenue and current expenses of the past half-year; and
the directors feel justified in recommending a dividend
of 2s. per each share of 20/. of the capital stock of the
Eastern Counties and Norfolk Companies. It will be
observed in the accounts, that an ample sum has been set
apart for the half-year, and charged against revenue, as
recommended by the late committee of investigation, for
the renewal of permanent way and works.
" The capital account is still in the hands of Messrs.
Quilter, Ball, and Co., who have promised to give to it
their continued and close attention. Before the next
half-yearly meeting a full statement of the affairs of the
company shall be submitted to the proprietors. With
an income so great as that now derived from the under-
taking there will always be a dividend payable, but its
amount must depend upon the expenditure attendant upon
earning it. The correction and diminution of this ex-
penditure is, the directors feel, the vital matter of
management; and when they next meet the proprietors,
the latter will have cause to be satisfied, as the directors
hope, that the supervision and reduction of such expen-
diture have not been neglected.
" After the agreement for amalgamation with the
Norfolk Railway Company had been adopted by a
majority of votes, representing so large a portion of the
capital of this company, the directors could have wished
that it had been in their power to report the-confirma-
tion of the agreement by Parliament. The Bill for such
confirmation was lost in Committee in the House of
Lords, and any renewed application must now stand
over to a future session of Parliament. There is every
probability of the agreement then receiving Parlia-
mentary sanction; for the particular opposition, which
succeeded in defeating the Bill, was not to the principle
nor to the terms of the amalgamation, but was in respect
of matters wholly foreign to the subject.
" During the temporary want of the Parliamentary
authority to make the amalgamation complete, the
directors have not hesitated, under the advice of eminent
counsel at the Chancery bar, to carry out practically the
wishes of • the shareholders so plainly expressed in
favour of the confirmation of the agreement, and to
remove all illegality from the proceedings of both
companies, while the terms of their bargain should
remain unchanged ; and the directors feel assured that
Parliament will eventually sanction the union, and will
approve the proceedings of the company in the mean-
time, which secure to the public the benefit of the
amalgamation.
" The steps advised by counsel have formed a subject of
a supplemental agreement, of which the following is an
abstract :
"The terms of complete amalgamation as to be sanc-
tioned by Parliament, shall remain the same as already
agreed to.
" But to prevent litigation, and in order that the trans-
actions of both companies, pending the sanction by Par-
liament of the amalgamating may be regular and legale
it is agreed between both companies as follows:
" That the Norfolk Company shall repay the Eastern
Counties Company's advances.
" That the Eastern Counties Company shall purchase
the Norfolk Company's rolling stock now in their pos-
session, and pay for the same by instalments as may be
agreed between the companies."
The reading of the engineer's report was dispensed
with; but upon its being suggested that the same course
should be pursued with regard to Messrs. Quitter's
account,
Mr. NATHAN insisted that it oaght to be read,
observing that it was a scandalous shame that
while they were paying 60,0001. a year for the Nor-
folk line, it only yielded them an annual re-
turn of 20,0001. He attributed the desire of the di-
rectors to carry out the Norfolk amalgamation to the fact
that some of the Chairman's relatives held a large inte-
rest in the Norfolk concern.—(Hisses, and " No, no.")
The CHAIRMAN indignantly denied the imputation.
The report of Messrs. Quilter was then read. It was
as folows:—

" To the Chairman and Directors of the Eastern Coun-
ties Railway Company.
" Gentlemen,—ln pursuance of your instructions, we
have prepared statements of the revenue of the Eastern
Counties Railway Company, to the 4th of July, 1849,
nnd now beg to lay them before you. They are as fol-
lows, namely : .

1. Stateu3ent of the revenue account for the half-
y,qtr ending 4th July, 1849.
2. Itevenuo balance•sheet to 4th July, 1849.
"The accounts arc made out in the form usually
adopted by the company in its printed statements, there
not having been sufficient time to adopt any other.
66 fine current revenue account is framed on the prin-
ciple of comprising within it only those earnings and
expenses which are proper to the half-year, including—
as to the earnings—all those sums which, although not
actually received, are represented by good realisable
assets; and—as to the expenses—all those sums
which, although not actually paid, are represented at the
close of the period by debts due by the company on
revenue account.
" The operation of this principle necessarily excludes
from the account all payments made during the half-
year in respect of expenses incurred in periods anterior
thereto, and is intended to bring out the result of the
particular half-year's working, as that of a distinct and
independent period, uninfluenced either by extraneous
charges or extraneous credits ; and this result we con-
sider to be exhibited ha the account now presented, sub-
ject only to any question which may possibly be sug-
gested as to the propriety of the sum charged as a re-
serve (beyond the amount paid for maintenance and ru-
p_airs) to cover renewals of permanent way and works.
The amount so reserved is 16,0001., and it is adopted in
accordance with the recommendation given in that be-
half by the committee of investigation.
No charge by way of reserve is considered necessary
to provide for renewal of rolling stock, the actual pay-
ments debited to revenue for repairs and new stock
being deemed adequate to cover the deterioration result-
ing from the traffic of this half-year.
The present account shows the net
earnings of the half-year, previously
to charging interest, to have been £173,980 3 0
The interest chargeable to revenue

amounts to 148,498 3 10

Leaving a net result of.
There is also standing at the credit of
the revenue account the surplus re-
maining after payment of the divi-
dend for the half-year ending 4th
July, 1848, namely
And, likewise, the balance remaining
at the credit of revenue account for
the half-year ending 4th Jan., 1849,
alter charging it with the sum of
97,3641., in pursuance of the recom-
mendation of the committee of inves-
tigation

3,589 9 5

6,323 13 0

£35,395 1 7
" 2, The revenue balance-sheet is intended to exhibit
the gc.neral position of the revenue affairs of the com-
pany o.'t the 4th July, 1849.