The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-07 00:00:00

THE ABERDEEN RAILWAY.

A special general meeting of the shareholders was
held within the Royal Hotel, Aberdeen, on Wednesday,
to consider and approve of various Bills proposed to be
applied for in the ensuing session of Parliament ; Mr.
James Hadden, the chairman of the company, in the
chair.

The CHAIR3IAN said—The first is a Bill to enable this
company to make a railway from the Arbroath and For-
tar Railway, at Forfar, in the Scottish Midland Junction
Railway, in the parish of Glammis—in other words, to
extend the Arbroath and Forfar Railway, which is now
leased to this company, to a convenient point of junction
with the Scottish Midland, near the village of Glammis.
The length of the proposed new line is about two and a
hilf miles, and will effect a saving of distance as com-
, pared with the present intended route of the Scottish

Midland, of half a mile. By a reference to the map it
will be seen that the present intended junction of the
Arbroath and Forfar and Scottish Midland is not only
inconvenient, but is is so laid down as entirely to cut off
the important town of Forfar ; and to remedy this,
and to secure the most direct thorough communication,
the present Bill is proposed. The estimated cost
is 3.,i,000/. The next Bill to be submitted is one
to enable the company, in part, to alter their branch
line to Brechiu. The alteration to which this
Bill relates was sanctioned by a general meeting of the
proprietors, specially called for that purpose on the 30th
of May last, by adopting which the company are enabled
to carry their terminus considerably nearer the town of
Brechin, rendering it more convenient for the inhabi•
tants of that town. The works are presently being pro-
ceeded with ; but it is necessary to procure an Act of
Parliament, in order to obtpin a valid title to certain en-
tailed lands through which the line passes, as well as in
other respects to secure the legal rights of the company.
The expense is estimated at 3,0001. The next measure
to be brought before you is a Bill to authorise this com-
pany to purchase, and the Aberdeen Harbour Commis-
sioners to sell, a piece of ground at the upper part of the
Inches, and upper part of the harbour of Aberdeen.
The ground referred to is close in the vicinity of the
terminus at Aberdeen, and is required by the company
for the purposes of building workshops and other ac-
commodation thereon, for which it is very suitable
and convenient. The present Bill is rendered necessary,
in consequence of the harbour commissioners having
no power, by their Act, to dispose of the ground. The
last and must important matter to be submitted to this
meeting is a Bill to consolidate the Aberdeen and Great
North of Scotland Railway • Companies. In bringing
forward this measure, your directors are carrying out a
resolution passed at a general meeting of proprietors
held on the 11 th September, 1845. It is as follows,
viz. : " That this meeting recommend to, and authorise
the directors to adopt, in conjunction with the directors
of the Great North of Scotland Railway, the proper
measures for affecting an amalgamation of the two lines
at the earliest period which may be found advisable
and practicable." And the Great North of Scotland
Company having obtained au Act in the last session of
Parliament, both companies are now in a position to
apply to the Legislature for a Bill for their amalgama-
tion. Of the desirableness of such an union, I believe

there can be but one opiniun among those who know the
intimate connexion between the two lines of railway,
and the mutual dependence on each other, which, from
their position, must always exist. From the very first,
the promoters of this company contemplated the ex-
tension of railway communication north of Aberdeen,
in connexion with the Aberdeen Railway, and although
it was considered advisable to bring out the Great North
of Scotland Company as a separate undertaking, the
directors of both companies have all along acted on the
distinct understanding that, as the interests of both
lines were identical, they could not be kept separate
with advantage to either. The question in regard to the
terms on which the amalgamation should be made has
received the most anxious consideration of your direct.
ors, and after maturely weighing the matter in all its
bearings, they have unanimously come to the resolution
of recommending an amalgamation of the two com-
panies on equal terms. I do not think it would be
judicious on the present occasion to make any com-
parison of the merits of the respective lines, but I deem
it proper to state the following facts regarding the
Great North of Scotland Railway, as indicative of the
reasons which have induced the directors to recommend
such terms of amalgamation. 1. The Great North of Scot-
land Railway, commencing at the Aberdeen Company's
terminus, in the centre of the city of Aberdeen, passes
through the important counties of Aberdeen,Banff, Moray,
Nairn, and Inverness, and embraces a wide extent of
fertile country containing a large population. 2. In ad-
dition to the counties above mentioned, it forms an outlet
to the population and commerce of the more northern
counties of Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness. 3. The
line will be of singularly easy construction, more so than
any railway of similar extent in Britain, as, from the
favourable nature of the country, the rails may almost
be laid on the existing level, for a considerable portion
of the distance; and 4. The traffic on the line which
was carefully taken by competent parties, shows a return
equal to eight-and-half per cent. on the capital of
1,500,0001., exclusive of the traffic of the counties of
Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness. These are a few of
the facts we had before us in coming to a resolution on
this important matter. By the contemplated mea-
sures, upwards of 200 miles of railway, will be placed
under one management, and the superior economy and
advantage of working long, as compared with short
lines, are now too well known and appreciated to re-
quire any commendation. The directors, therefore,
earnestly recommend the approval of this Bill as a mea-
sure which cannot fail to be of the greatest importance to
the shareholders.—(Applause.) The Chairman then sub-
mitted drafts of the various Bills seriatim to the meeting,
which were all unanimously approved of, and a resolu-
tion adopted empowering the directors to make the
necessary application for obtaining the Bills in the
ensuing session of Parliament.

EXETER, DORCHESTER, AND WEYMOUTH.—On Sa-
turday a meeting was held under the Dissolution Act,
Mr. Neale in the chair, when it was moved by Mr. Po-
cock, and seconded by Mr. Cohen, " That the company
be dissolved, and that the dissolution be not taken as an
act of bankruptcy." Scrutineers were appointed to ex-
amine the votes. Nl' hilst this duty was being performed,
Mr.lPocock,las chairman of the shareholders' committee,
proposed to read their report, but it was not thought
neeessary to do so. Mr. Pocock then stated that they
had taken great trouble in looking into the affairs of
the company, and the only thing they could complain
was the purchase of shares by the company, which,
however, they had had the honesty to acknowledge
at the first meeting, and the shareholders'
committee believed it arose from an error of judgment
rather than from any desire to benefit individuals. Mr.
Cohen stated that the managing committee had afforded
ready access to all papers necessary to be examined in
conducting the inquiry, and that the conduct of Mr.
Crew, the secretary, had been most assiduous and oblig-
ing. He had the satisfaction of stating, as the result of
the labours of the shareholders' committee, that the sum
of 6,0001. had been deducted from the accounts sent in,
which had enabled the management to return a guinea
per share, and the sum of ls. 6d. per share still remained
to be paid to the shareholders. He also stated that
Messrs. Chauntler and Westwood, and Mr. Strick, the
solicitors, had kindly taken into consideration the posi-
tion of the company, and deducted upwards of 1,5001.
from their accounts. The scrutineers here reported that
the number of votes recorded in favour of the dissolution
of the company amounted to 6,140, being more than one-
third of the shares issued prior to the 31st of March last,
and the Chairman thereupon declared the company to be
dissolved.