The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-07 00:00:00

- • -
TRE LE IG H. CONSOLIDATED , THE QUESTION OF LOW
MINING COMPANY. (From the Railroad Magazin:!.)
The annual general meeting of the :bore Compe.ne The subject o'f.fares is one which, with the extension
was held yesterday at the Office, 23, Threadneedle- street, of railways for traffic, must necoseerily attract much
for the purpose of receiving the Directors' Report end the attention, and it is evident, that it now attracts a great
statement of the Company's accoaats from the Scerc- deal. Like all other questions, it has two sides and two
ry. i parties, one, which we may cull the passive party, that
ta
Mr. HEYMAN took the Chair. I which holds that the higher the fares the greater the
The SECRETARY read the advertisement, calling the profit, and the other, which is an active party, which ad-
meeting together, with the minutes of the last meeting. vocates low fares as the only genuine source of. healthy
The CHAIRMAN then called on the Secretary to read traffic and steady profit. Eor this latter cause we have
the Report from the direction, from. which it appeared ! long laboured, both in the former series of the Magazine
that although not so satisfactory and encouraging i and in the present, and we believe that we may claim the
to the Shareholders as the last Report in its several merit of having been the first and most persevering ad-
bearings, yet there was ground for , congratulation j vocates of this great principle. To us, therefore, to con-
to the Directors. The prospective improvement had i template the present state and prospects of the parties
induced Captain Sincock, the superintendent of the I contending for low fares, must be most agreeable, and
works, to recommend to the Directors the erection of a we know no period more fitting than this, when the
steam whim, &c., for the more effectual prosecution of I yearly-meetings of most of the Companies have been
the works. Acting upon this recommendation, the I It will be found from this investigation that the
Directors had made a call upon the shareholders of ss. principle of low fares is no longer dependent upon
on each share, in order to carry out this recommenda- the pen or upon theory, advocated only in the
tion, but the returns had not realised their expectations, closet by a few, but that it is daily making
and they were therefore obliged to forego the advan- I way, and coming into practical operation among
tagus of. the proposal, and appropriate the funds so ! a large number of Railway Companies. It is evi-
ra:sed to the current expenses of the mine. In June dent that the sticklers fur high prices are alarmed,
last the mine increased in value at Christor, inso-nuch I and although Mr. Chaplin and its other partisans may
that it. more than paid its cost. But although the mine I thunder forth, from the Chair diatribes against writers
was paying the. cost, the Directors thought that it would and theorists, lie and they will find that the rapid pro-
be necessary to call for a further ss. on each share, in ' grass of the other system already prognosticates the ulti-
order to carry into effect other improvements. I mate result. The following, among other Companies,
The SECRETARY then read the report of Captain Sine have now declared themselves in favour of low fares :
cock respecting the proceedings and working of the The Manchester and Leeds, the Glasgow and Ayr, the
mines. He then read a balance sheet of the Company, Glasgow and Greenock, the Croydon, the Blackwell, the
and it appeared that the amount paid for various pur- Dundee and Arbroath, the Arbroath and Forfar, the
poses by the Company was 7,1721. Os. 3d., whilst the Dublin and Kingstown, the Chester and Birkenhead, the
receipts had been 7,422:1. 145., leaving a surplus gain to Hull and Selby, and the Stockton and Darlington.
the Company 0f..25C1. 13s. 9d. The liabilities still out- The following have affirmed the principle of third-class
standing were 4371. 10s. 6d., whilst the assets were carriages at low fares :—The Great North of England,
940/. 13s. 9d. ; showing a balance in favour of the Com- the Greenwich, the Newcastle and North Shields, the
pany of 5131. 3s. 3d. Eastern Counties, and the Birmingham and Gloucester.
Mr. BIRDSEY inquired of tha Secretary what the We shall now proceed to give some of the testimonies
raising would be during the next month ? to low fares, furnished by this year's proceedings from
The SECRETARY—One hundred and fifty tons. the present volume of the Magazine. The Newcastle
Mr. BIRDSEY— What do you calculate that will bring ? and North Shields Directors state that "they had ad-
The SECRETARY-900L vanced the second class fares, and given increased acco-
Mr. BIRDSEY—And what will be the cost of raising ? modation, at the same time they added a third class of
The SECRETARY-65GL open carriages at a lower price.' The Grand Junction
Mr. CURLING moved and Mr. SMITH seconded the announce " a further reduction in the rates for the car-
motion, that the report and accounts be received, which riage for goods has been made since the last general
was carried. meeting ; the 'result of which has been an increase
In answer to a question from a Proprietor, which we in the quantity, as well as in the money receipt from
could not catch, this sourcs. The Directors have been guided by
The CHAIRMAN said—Fifty shares, on which the calls a conviction that the prosperity of the un-
were not responded to within the tire they became due. dertaking would be promoted by the increase
One gentleman was in Spain at the. time. And another of traffic created by such inducements.". The Green-
Shareholder, holding twenty shares, the former holding with Directors confess that they have been obliged to
thirty, paid on some, and was not aware that he pos- introduce third class carriages, "rather in deference to
sessed so many, you will say whether they are to be the wishes of many of the Shareholders, and to the prac-
re-admitted or not. •.- flee of other railways, than from conviction of their own."
A Puorairroamoved that the two Shareholclersshould At that meeting they seemed rather disposed to throw
be re-admitted on payment of the last call. them up, but in July they say, " Some experience has
The CHAIRMAN—Of course we shall charge interest. been afforded by the use of these lower-priced carriages
The motion having been seconded, was carried. for the last twelve months, by which it would appear to
The CHAIRMAN said, there was nothing further before be imperative, from the existing competition, that they
the meeting, unless any gentleman wished to make any should be continued." They further recommend the
observation. abolition of 2d class fares, and reduction of lst class
Mr. BIRDSEY—I will bet any gentleman in this room fares. The Directors of the Eastern Counties
a wager that their shares will be worth this time next say, " that they have been for some time in ne-
year.— (A laugh.) gociation with the Thames Haven Company,
sale CHAIRMAN—We think they are worth that and the Harwich and Colchester branch, to decrease the
now, Si:. toll." At the
-North Midland meeting, the Chairman
No Shareholder appearing desirous of availing himself stated that the Board were prepared to entertain the
of Mr. Birdsey's offer, .question of a reduction in the Manchester and Leeds
A vote of thanks was proposed to the:Chairman, and toll, as a matter only of revenue, but as a matter of prin-
the meeting was dissolved, having sat about 20 minutes. ciple there were some doubts. By the Manchester and
Leeds Directors, who honourably lead the way in main-
taining the great principle, it is avowed that the Coni-
pans, have adopted this " principle of carrying a larger
number at low fares in preference to a smaller number at
high fares." In March the Croydon Directors announced
that "they adhered to the opinion expressed in
their late Report, that increased facilities and reduction
of fares are the means most likely to lead to a
remunerating revenue." Again in September, they say.
that " they are firmly convinced that lower fares would
so greatly increase the number of passengers as to add
to the income of both Companies (the Greenwich and
Croydon.) The Dublin and Kingstown Directors ex-
press their satisfaction with the result of the late reduc-
tion in the second class fares, and in the rates Of sub-
scription, and with the plan of family tickets. They
also intimate an intention of giving greater facili-
ties. Notwithstanding an increase of a quarter of a
million of passengers, or 20- per cent., the expenses of
the locomotive and carriage departments were 7721. less
on the year. The Chester and Birkenhead Board
report that the charges had been reduced, and the traffic
has since steadily and progressively increased. The
Directors of the Hull and Selby state that they have
consented to grant monthly tickets to parties residing on
the line of railway, allowing them to pass as often as
they think proper, on the payment of ono fare daily.
The Glasgow and Greenock board announce that their
fares are unusually low, and that the result already con-
firms the soundness of their views. The Glasgow and
Ayr Directors advocate a reduction in the fares of the
joint lines. The report of the Black wall Directors states,
that " although the present fares are unquestionably low
(perhaps lower than any other railway in England), the
rectors would deprecate any increase, until the pre-
seitt
stes have had a fair trial, with the advantages of
n;. 1; ' The Great North of England Di-
the extene:as
~at " third class carriages hive been at-
rectors state
' the trains, and the scale of fares fixed
ta
according to their means, to ched
so as tto some or o
enable all cht,Sses?
'way." The Ulster Directors
avail themselves of the rat- •eus to settle rates of fare
announce that " they are anx, „
m the subject is
on as moderate a scale as possible. .
Another proof of the interest taken .
place
,several of
in the debates which have taken
the meetings. At the Manchester and Leen: a long
and interesting debate took place on fares, and ev,:n in
that liberal Company a motion was brought forward's,'
• give some additional accommodation to third-class pas-
sengers. At the Dublin and Kingstown meeting, emi-
nent for its maintenance of low fares, a motion for
increased accommodation was similarly brought forward
and dropped. At the Greenwich meeting some able
remarks on the reduction of fares were made by the.
late Resident Director, Mr. George Walter, and a
long debate ensued. At the Grand Junction Meet-
ing a sound and sensible speech was made
by the retiring Chairman, Mr. Moss, on the subject
of brw fares. At the Sheffield and Manchester
meeting 'Mr. Jackson advocated accommodation for third-
class passengers. It was at the North Midland meeting,
however, that the grand debate for the year took place,
on the speech of nr. Vickers, and although the motion
was lost, the oppositiod was evidently of a very moderate
character. A Proprietor.
et the Glasgow and Ayr meet-
ing expressed an opinion in f`tv.9ur of high fares, but the
sense of the meeting was agal2st him, and the meet-
ing subsequently passed a res.elution declaratory
of their desire for a reduction cf the fares on
the joint line. At the South West. meeting
Mr. Chaplin delivered a masterly speech in (I,e-
-fence of high fares, which may be considered as tue
counterblast of that expiring cause against the opinions
of Mr. Vickers. Discussions of questions were also
raised at the meetings of. the Great Western, Birming-
ham and Derby, and Blackwell Companies: Thus the
question of fares has come before the meetings of eleven
Companies.
We have now to sum up the names of the advocates
who have this year declared themselves on either side.
We therefore find among the advocates of low fares,
Mr. Moss, late Chairman of the Grand Junction ;
Mr. Houldsworth, Chairman of the Manchester and
Leeds ; Mr. Routh, Chairman of the Blackwell ; Mr.
Crawshay, Chairman of the Northern and East-
ern ; Mr. M'Call, Chairman of the Glasgow and
Ayr ; Mr. W. A. Wilkinson, Chairman of the
Croydon ; Mr. George Walter, late Resident Di-
Director of the Greenwich ; Capt. Lewes, Superintend- •
ant of the Manchester and Leeds ; Mr. Bass, Manager
of the Glasgow and Greenock • Mr. Entwisle and Mr.
Gill, Directors of the Manchester and Leeds ; Mr.
Vickers, &c. Those who have stood forth in defence of
high fares have been Mr. Chaplin, Deputy Chairman of
the South-Western ; Mr. J. P. Maubez t ; Mr. Levi, the
Turnpike Contractor ; and Mr. Henry Wheeler, Three-
tor of the Greenwich, who cuts so ludicrous a gure in
our pages.
One of the results of the agitation, which is not the
least curious, and another proof of the progress of low
fares, is the recent formation of a third party, which
adopts modified views, and which may be regarded as a
weakening of the high fare party. This party may be
considered to have declared itself at the North Midland
meeting. It was then put forward that high fares are to
be preferred, but that low fares may be adopted, as
expediency may dictate. Among the adherents to this
expediency party we may reckon Mr. Glyn, Chairman
of the London and Birmingham, and North Midland ;
Mr. Hudson, Chairman of the York and North Midland;
Capt. Porter, R.N. ; Mr. M. A. Goldsmid, Director of
the Brighton and Greenwich ; and Mr. Robert Stephen-
son. Mr. George Stephenson expressed an opinion, at
the Birmingham and Derby meeting, against high tolls
on mineral traffic ; but we do not rightly understand
whether he objected to high rates on mineral traffic on
canals only.

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian.)
MANCHESTER.—There was little change in the market
yesterday. Owing to the near approach of the time for
closing the shipments to Russia, some descriptions of
yarn, suitable for that market, were more earnestly in-
quired after, and, in some few cases, a slight advance
was obtained. On the whole, however, the market was
rather quiet, and prices remain, generally, without
change. In goods there was no alteration, either of
demand or price ; and all descriptions, except fustians,
continue much depressed, notwithstanding the firmness
of the Cotton market.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, OCT. 4.—The demand
for goods to-day has been better than that of last
Monday ; but there has been no change in prices. In
the Wool market there is nothing to report, except that
prices remain firm.
HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, OCT. s.—This was much
the same sort of dull market as that of last week ; per-
haps no worse, but still cold and inanimate. The chief
•nd was for heavy woollens for the home trade, and
dem-
.4"
.for exportation. Prices remain pretty
light fan..
firm. Busmes gin the warehouses is, on the whole, en-
couraging.

PROMISSORI- _NOTES.
(From Tuesday's Gaza._
of r: omissory
An Account of the Average Aggregate Amour.. ' •
bin
Notes payable to Bearer on Demand which has
Circulation in the United Kingdom, distinguishing.
tho3,'
circulated by the Bank of England, by Private Banks, a!ld
by Joint Stock Banks, in England and Wales, by the Banks
in S'ziitland, by the Bank of Ireland, and by all other Banks
in Ireland, and of the Average Amount of Bullion in the
Bank of England, during the Four Weeks preceding the
18th day of September, 1841, pursuant to the Act of 4 and
5 Victoria, cap. 50.

The Memorial de Pau relates that a few days
ago, while a fine young man, about 22 years of age,
and a beautiful girl, about 17, who had arrived at one
of the principul inns in the town, were at table
together, their tete-a-tete was interrupted by a Com-
missary of Police, who took them before the Procu-
reur du Roi. The captive, and, as it appeared, capti-
vating youth, pretended for a moment to be an artist,
and produced a passport in that character, but there
were witnesses present to prove that he was the son
of the Marquis de P-, of Saint Sever, and that the
fair ladz_was the daughter of one of the most re-
spectablMncl wealthy inhabitants of Toulouse. Tho
Youns gallant was committed to prison, notwith-
standing his companion took all the blame upon
herself, and protested that he had been induced to make
the elopement by her solicitations. It appears that the
is:sappcarance of a case of jewels was also a subject of
inviry, but the fair fugitive declared that it was left in
safe hinds at Toulouse. Mademoiselle was delivered
over to Iwo of her relations, and was taken back to
Toulouse.

In the year 1765, instead of agriculture being
fettered at that time with Corn-laws in this country, we
were exporters of grain. In 1766 the exportation for a
short time received a ',lmporary interruption, by an em-
bargo having been laik un the exportation of corn on
the 29th of September, in consequence of a bad harvest,
after which the exportation recommenced.
SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCE.—A gentleman
named Pugh, while sporting along with others, on the
Beacon Hill, Radnorshire, on the 28th of August last,
shot a fine grouse, attached to the leg of which was a
small canvas bag, containing a silver fourpenny piece,
wrapped in an, envelope on win ^h was written, " clock,
q. Bs. Od." The coin is still retained by Mr. Pugh as
a curiosity.