The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-05 00:00:00

SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY.

The half-yearly meeting was held, by adjournment,
on Tuesday, at the Royal Hotel, Plymouth. There was a
very full attendance of subscribers, and considerable interest
was manifested in the proceedings.
The object of the meeting was to elect directors in place of
those who retire by rotation, to appoint auditors, and to
transact other general business of the Company.
Mr. THOMAS GILL, M.P., was in the chair ; and among
the directors present were Messrs. Gibbs, Millar, Fry, Coll,
Hanker, St. Aubyn, Woolecombe, John Randle, Barlow,
Jones, Shapland, Col. Harris, &c.
Mr. Brunel, the engineer to the Company, was likewise
present, as was also Mr. Samuda, the patentee of the atmos-
pheric system of traction.
The SECRETARY having read the notice of meeting, and
the resolution of adjournment passed at the pro firma meet-
ing, held on Saturday,
The CHAIRMAN said, in commencing the few observations
that he should offer upon the objects of their meeting that
day, it was right that he should notice the occasion
that had obliged him to postpone the meeting to that
day. They were aware that individually he had very
important Parliamentary duties to attend to, and he could
not, consistently with those _duties, have left London
in time to have been present, and knowing
that there were several important matters to be brought for-
ward about that period, the directors, who had been similarly
situated with himself; thought that the best course would be
to postpone the meeting until the present time. He hoped
that it had not caused inconvenience to any party; if it had
it would give him pain to have been the occasion of it. He
would new allude to the present financial position of the
Company. The directors had made calls, as they were aware,
up to the present period to the extent of 35/. upon each share,
and which amounted to 700,000/. When he last had the
pleasure of addressing them in November, he then had hoped
that the directors would have been enabled to avoid making
the last call upon the shareholders, and they had accordingly
taken measures with that view by advertising for loans of
money on debentures at 4 per cent. He had reason to be-
lieve at that time, and in which opinion he believed most
present on that occasion agreed with him, that they would
have been able to obtain a sum of money quite adequate to
i
their want ;thus rendering it quite unnecessary to make an-
expectations. They need not be reminded,
t e
ieproprietors forthat purpose. Unfortunately
other
from
t callhin
sut
n their the proprietors forthat purpose. lTnfortunately
from the stte of the money market they had been disap-
pointedthat for some time previous—in fact, during the whole of last
summer, railway speculation had acquired a point at which
it had never before attained ; in short, it had correctly been
stated that railway speculation had gone mad. Money was
therefore conceived to be more valuably appropriated than
it could be in the way he had referred to ; and• failing, as
the measure they had adopted had, it would fully explain
the reason why they had made the call in November. He
had the satisfaction of saying, notwithstanding the short
notice of the call, it had been responded to in a manner
which had served in a great measure to relieve their anxiety
lest it should have proved inconvenient. It would, he be-
lieved, be greatly to their satisfaction to hear the rea-
sons which had made it necessary to make calls
for money so repeatedly. The state of the works
had exhibited very considerable improvement, and
the expenditure had of course been proportionably large:
but he had the satisfaction of saying, although the sum of
700,0.,01. had been drawn, a portion had been found neces-
sarythe necessary in order to make deposits with the Ac-
countant-General for those schemes in which the Company
had embarked under the sanction of a public meeting of the
shareholders, and that had taken a sum equal to 90,000/.
They had done that, with a balance in hand at the close of
the year, of between 20,000/. and 30,000/., which showed that
they had spent up to this period a sum not exceeding
590,000/. He believed he might say with confidence, and in
that statement all his colleagues would join, that notwith-
standing the largeness of the calls, and notwithstanding they
had not yet been enabled to give any public evidence of the
progress of the works by any demonstration of the working
of the line, yet there was every reason to believe that the
undertaking would be completed within the amount
of the subscribed capital as described in the Act.
The Chairman then entered into a variety of other statements,
embracing the principal features noticed in the report. He
described the nature of the reports which had been circulated
to the prejudice of this line, and the animus of which was
quite apparent. He hoped that the line by the ordinary
locomotive mode of traction would be opened to Teignmoutb
in May, and as Alertly afterwards as practicable to Newton.
A variety of questions were then asked the Chairman,
and satisfactorily answered ; they were principally in refer-
ence to the atmospheric system of traction.
Mr.. C. STEPHENS, of London, made some. observations,
with a view of ascertaining the probable loss to the Com-
pany should the system which they proposed trying prove a
failure, and should the undertakings to which they had lent
their support not answer the expectations of the promoters.He had every confidence in the directors, but be asked these,
questions as a commercial man, to test the value of his pro-
perty and the nature of the contingencies to which it was
subject.
The CHAIRMAN replied that the greater part of the iron for
the whole line was parchwed and paid for, and they had
contributed to the other undertakings from the certainty of
their paying. •
Mr. &stun), then entered into a variety of details prov-
ing the excellence of the atmospheric system of traction.
The retiring directors ti were
then re-elected, as were the
auditors, and a vote of thanks having been given to the
Chairman, the meeting separated.

The following is the
ENGINEER'S .REPORT
othGentlemen,—eltoinsgrwaittuhlatging you upon the completionre at regret that I have again
to report to you upon the general state of the works, without
at
and opening of any portion of the line, although I feel that
no exertion has been wanting on my part to attain that ob-
ject, and that the delay has arisen from a variety of causes
to which such works are always liable, and which are be-
yond the control, and to a great extent beyond the foresight
of any engineer.
" Upon that part of the line nearest to Exeter, which we
had hoped to have opened last summer, the works are not
what can at all be termed, in an engineering point of view,
either heavy or difficult of construction, nevertheless at
almost every point we have been dependent upon circum-
stances over which we have had no control.
" Under the provisions of the Act almost every step has
been subject to the jurisdiction of Government departments
and private interests to adopt our works, which has
involved frequent and harassing delays, and the successive
stages of the work have, moreover, been always dependent
upon the weather and the season, against the effect of which
in postponing certain portions at one time and interrupting
the supplies of materials at others it has been impossible to
proceed. In the hopes which I at one time entertained of
an early completion of this portion of the line I calculated
upon the ordinary effects of these causes. In these hopes I
have been disappointed, and having made the utmost exer-
tions in my power, I sould only share in your disappointment
in the results.
" These disappointments are, however, I trust, uow draw-
ing to a close, and we now may safely calculate upon opening
the line to Teignmouth, and probably soon after to Newton.
" These delays in the completion of the works have given
rise to numerous and somewhat industrious ly circulated reports

, ;

,i:...

•

of difficulties and serious impediments, which have no doubt
added to the anxiety and disappointment of those interested
in the success of our undertaking, but I am happy to say
that the connexions of these reports has been almost in re-
verse ratio of their number.

" No difficulties except those productive of delay have
occurred in the slightest degree affecting the stability of the
works or the ultimate successful working of the line.
" It would be impossible to refer to the numerous sources
of alarm which have been suggested, and therefore it is im-
possible to meet them in detail, but I believe you will be
satisfied with my assurance, corroborated as it must be by
your own frequent personal inspection of the line—that all
those works between Exeter and Newton, to which the
attention of the public has so frequently been drawn as ex-
posed to injury from the sea, have been constructed sub-
stantially, have resisted successfully that to which they are
exposed, and are well calculated to afford a perfectly safe,
convenient, and I may add agreeable road fur the public.
"No part of these works have ever, during their construc-
tion, suffered more than ordinarily occurs to all works ex-
posed to the action of water, and rails are laid for nearly the
whole length of that part so reported, and promises to be as
good and as substantial a railway as any that have yet been
constructed. •
"In the employment of a new system—l refer to the at-
mospheric—delays will unavoidably occur, and in my desire
to profit by the experience of the Croydon Railway, -I
have
intentionally, and I think wisely, postponed some matters of
detail, which has caused a considerable delay in the comple-
tion of this part of the machinery necessary for an opening.
The success of this system upon the Croydon Railw4y
has fully confirmed me in the view I entertained of its applica-
bility to this railway, and I deliberately repeat my opinion
that I entertain no doubt whatever that you will be perfectly
satisfied with the result.

'• The delay which I have referred to in the fixing of the ma-
chinery, has induced you to consider the propriety of running
passenger trains for a period with locomotives. This can be
done with perfect, facility, and will not interfere with the
completion of the atmospheric apparatus.
"Arrangements will be immediately made for effecting
this object.
"Upon the rest of the works of the line to Plymouth the
works are in a much more forward state than appears to be
generally supposed—a considerable portion will he ready to
receive the permanent way in the summer, and the whole,
except at Plymouth itself, is proceeding very satisfactorily.
"At Plymouth, as you are aware, we are waiting the deci-
sion of Parliament upon some proposed improvements on the
line.—l have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most obe-
dient servant, "I. K. BRUNEL."