The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-16 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1849:

the shareholders of the London, Newbury, and Bath
Direct Railway R 3 may bs requisite; approving or the
discontinuance of the separate• list of proprietors req,nrell
by a resolution passed in October, 1838; affixing the
seal of the company to a petition to the House of Com•
mons, against the present system of assessing rail rya)
for parochial rates; and re-electing the three retiring
director..

Thanks were voted to the chairman and directors, and
the meeting separate d.

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY.
The spring half-yearly general meeting of the pro-
prietors of the above railway was held yesterday, at
the Nine Elms Station; Mr. William Chaplin, chairman
of the board of directors, in the chair. There was a very
full attendance of shareholders.

Mr. WYNDHA.I4I HARDING, the new secretary, read the
report, from which it appeared that the directors were of
opinion the traffic during the last halt-year on all the
railways in the kingdom had been much and injuriously
affected by several causes, which were nut likely to be
lasting in their operation. Among these were the
political convulsions which had disturbed the continent
of Europe. This had especially affected the French
trade of the port of Southampton. The proof was to be
found in the very great falling off, since the revolution,
in the traffic of the railway from Paris to Havre, the port
on the opposite side of the Channel. A charge of 2,4001
had in consequence been thrown, for the first time, upon
the revenue of the half-year, in order to cover the interest
on the capital of the Steam Packet Company, which
has been guaranteed to them by this company. The
general depression of commerce, and the unusual wet-
ness of the autumn season, had also been peculiarly in-
jurious to that suburban traffic, which the opening of
the Datchet line, and the extension to Waterloo-bridge
were c.dculated to develop. In connexion with these
circumstances, the low scale of fares, adopted as an ex
periment in a time of prosperity, was found to be pre-
judicial. As soon, therefore, as circumstances permitted,
the directors raised the fares to the present scale.
The expense of running trains, during the last halt-year,
has been 2s. 10d: a mile—a result which, it was believed,
would bear satisfactory comparison with other railways;
and to this the directors would refer as a test of eco-
nomy. By the terms' under which the third shares
01 1647 were created, the amount of capital entitled to
dividend this half-year exceeded by 1,172,2751., or 46
per cent., the amount on which dividend was paid last
half-year. Under the same terms, the whole amount
which may be paid up on the capital of the company would
be entitled to dividend out of revenue during the current
half-year. A greatly increased capital had, therefore, ie
future to be provided for; and every effort, in developing
the resources of this railway, as well as a rigid economy
in conducting its affairs, would be necessary, in order to
realise a fair remuneration to the shareholders. These
efforts the directors are prepared to make, and this eco-
nomy
they are determined to pursue. For the satisfac-
tion of those w,ho may be influenced by the apprehension
now so commonly entertained, that expenditure which
ought to be borne by revenue is thrown upon capital, it
was proper here to state, that the accounts of this com-
pany had undergone a rigid and lengthened investiga-
tion in this as in other respects, by the auditors who
were appointed, by the proprietors at the last general
meeting ; and the directors were indebted to those gen-
tlemen for several suggestions, which should bo care-
fully considered. On the subject of lines for
which Parliamentary powers had been obtained,
and which were either not commenced, or only
partially constructed, the directors had merely to repels,
that in reference to such lines, the best policy was to
keep the powers intact. Every exertion would be made
for the early opening of those lines (about 20 miles in
length) which were now in progress. The Hampton
Court
directorsßranch was
wereh
ay openedpp onto the
announce,lst of
th a
tt
February.i,
The
Windsor, Staines, and South-Western Railway
Company had made a highly satisfactory ar-
rangement with the Crown for extending the
line into Windsor ; and a Bill introduced into Par•
liament for this purpose would be submitted to the
meeting. It was proposed, in.pursuance of the powers
obtained by the Act of last session, that a lease for four-
teen years be now executed to this company, of the
packets and property of the South-Western Steam
Navigation Company, on such terms as would legall)
secure the proprietors therein the dividend of 5 per cent.,
as well as the maintenance of their property, both of which
were already guaranteed by votes of this proprietary.
Cho directors had appointed Mr. Wyndham Harding to
the office of secretary of this company, iu place of Mr. P
L. Campbell, who died in September last. In connexion
with this event, and from the sen-e they entertain of the
abili;y and untiring zeal and energy with which Mr.
Campbell's arduous duties were performed, so long as
strength lasted, the directors would submit a resolution
to the proprietors before the close of the meeting.
The directors were glad to state, that the construction et
a second railway into Portsmouth, and the other needless
expenditure likely to have arisen from competition, had
been avoided by an amicable arrangement with the Lon-
dun, Brighton, and South Coast Railway Company, en-
tered into shortly after the opening of the branch to
Cosham. Under this arrangement, which was within
the scope of the Acts of the company, this
company pay 60,0001. tor their half-share
of the lino from Cosham to Portsmouth, which
was to be held jointly between the two companies.
The sanction of the proprietors would be asked to an
application to Parliament for extended powers of taking
land upon the Basingstoke and Salisbury, and Farnham
and Alton Lines. Advantage would be taken of this
application to include in these Bills some formal
powers which would be of use in administering the
affairs of the proprietors. To these may be addet
an alteration of the scale of voting to tha

specifi:d in the Companies Clauses Consolidation Act.
l'he parish rates amounted in the last half year to no less
than 10,8331., or upwards of 11 per cent. on the balance
available for a dividend. This tax (principally consisting
of poor-rate) amounts annually, on every adult employeu
in earning the company's revenue, to 12/. 10s.—the ave-
rage rates on the whole adult male population of the
-country being about 30s. a head; and yet the establish-
ment of the railway company consists of persons em-
ployed at steady wages throughout the year, and there-
fore does not add in any way to the parochial burdens.
An effort would be made in Parliament to show the un-
fair operation of this tax on public conveyance, and to
obtain relief'. In accordance with the suggestions of
several shareholders, a resolution would be submitted
to the consideration of the shareholders, for the
immediate conversion into stock of the new 50/.
and 401. shares of 1845, and the third shares.
The directors going out by rotation were Sir John
Easthope, Colonel Henderson, and H. Iker Sep
mer, A
;tahetqwo latter gentlemen offered themselves
forre.llPe Bart.,
and Mr. Sergeant Gaselee, and Colonel
Reid, M.P., offered themselves as candidates for a seat
in the direction.

An abstract of the accounts has already been published
in The Sun.

x in moving the adoption of the repot.'
wasT The
interrupted tße3dlAby

Mr. M. O. HILL, the Queen's Counsel, who, after
eulogizing the exertions of Sir J. Easthope in behalf of
the company for a long serieshofhyears, moved a vote of
which thanks to the Hon. B tronet, was seconded by Mr.
Tite, and carried unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed the adoption of the re-
port, and agreeing as he did with every word it contained,
any address from him might be
e dispensed with, but
as there was a numerous array of gentlemen of the press
before him, he thought it as well to congratulate the pro-
prietors absent and present upon the increase which
had taken place in their traffic, and upon the prospect
which was now before them of being able to economise
their expenditure.—(Hear, hear.) He could promise the
shareholders, now that their Parliamentary struggles
were at an end. that no exertions should be
wanting on the part of the directors to secure
economy consistent with the due and proper
working of the line. As an earnest of this they
had already reduced the salaries of the beads of
departments, while they had made an arrangement with
Mr. Birchen', the solicitor of the company, which would
in future greatly reduce their law expenses; but he must
add, in justice to the proprietors and Mr. Bircham, that
the Parliamentary expenses would be excluded from this
arrangement. Next in rotation came the engineering
department. Of course they would always have at com-
mand the valuable services of Mr. Locke, their able
engineer-in.chiet, but only for a moderate remuneration;
while in every other, department the strictest economy,
would be practised ( Hear, hear.) He then congKatu-
.-=-
lated the proprietors upon the success which had at-
tended their negot ations with the Brighton Company.
Had the arrangement alluded to in the report not been
come to, an independent line might have been made to
Portsmouth at an enormous expense, which would have
established a severe competition to their own existing
line, and served as a lastingmonument of the extrava-
Kant stupidity of themselves and the proprietors of the
Brighton line.—(Hear.) With regard to the Windsorline,
he was sure it would be a source of satisfaction to the
proprietors to be told that the Great Western Company
had at length, after a protracted struggle, been induced
to withdraw their opposition to it, and the extension
would be carried out vvith as little delay and expense as
possible.—(Cheers.) The report had told them of the
retirement of Sir John Essthope, Bart. The directors
regretted the step much, but Mr. M. D. Hill had taken
the subject out of his hands, and he would say no
more upon it except that he heartily concurred in
the compliment which bad been paid the Hon. Baronet.
—(Hear, hear.) The other two gentlemen who retired
offered themselves for re-election, and he hoped they
hear.) With regard to
would be re.elected.—alear'
the other two gentlemen who offered themselves as can-
didates for the vacancy created by Sir J. Easthorpe he
would say no more than this—
, " How happy could I be with either."
—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) He now came to the real
bone of contention amongst themselves, and
he hoped while he occupied their time upon
it he should be listen( d to with patience
and good temper.—(Hear, hear.) Just let him remind
them that their line commenced in the very heart of the
British metropolis, and terminated at Constantinople,
the East Indies, and America.— (Hear, hear.) Moreover
the Isthmus of Panama was about to be belted with a
railway, and who could say but that the South-Western
lino might not eventually become the leading highway
from London to India and China?—(Hear, hear.) Well,
then, what folly it was to Oppose the continuance
of the Steam-beat Company--(N1), no.) In his opinion
it would prove the salvation of their own property, and
he trusted the shareholders would not reject the propo-
sal of the directors upon this subject.—(Yes, yes.) At
all events, if they did, he could tell them that it would
be the means of destroying a good deal of their traffic.
lie admitted that he held largely in the Stearn-boat
Company, but he did so 13,,cawe he felt d-sirous to
unite their line in this way with the Rouen and Havre
line. He would not detain them longer, but would
simply conclude with moving . the adoption of
the report, and expressing his readiness W answer any