The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-02 00:00:00

btrb Nbttton

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

SAMBRE AND MEUSE RAILWAY.
(THIS DAY.)
The second half-yearly meeting of the shareholders in this
undertaking was held at the London Tavern, to-day, at one
o'clock.

Mr. HAYTER, M.P., having been called to the chair, ex-
pressed his sorrow that the chairman of the company was de-
tained by domestic affliction from occupying his usual place,
and then called on

The SECRET ART, who, after reading the advertisement
convening the meeting, read the report of the directors for
the last half-year, ending the 2d July instant. It stated
that M. De Grandvoir, an eminent engineer of the
Belgian Corps des • Pouts et Chaussees, having been ap-
pointed in the place •of their late resident engineer,
had devoted his whole time and attention with great effi-
ciency in completing the laying out of the line, and in
pressing forward the works; and his plans and drawings,
which had been submitted to Mr. Robert Stephenson,
and approved of, had subsequently passed the exa-
mination of the Conseil des Ponta et Chaussees
without alteration. it then referred to the reports
on traffic, made two years ago by Messes. Sopwith
and William Cubitt, founded on the Government returns,
and statistics of a trustworthy character, and stated
that since then, the Directors being aware that
a material improvement bad taken place, bad provided
that a report should be made down to the
close of 1845, by M. Magis, in reference to the same
subject, and founded, as before, on Government returns for
the mines, quarries, and other industrial establishments;
the personal evidence of the manufacturing firms, and the
French Custom-house authorities; showing the increased
traffic in the different articles of commerce and manufac-
tures. The report of the Directors thus concluded the re-
view of the traffic statistics:

"The result therefore is, that, without the increased ac-
commodation of the railway, and merely by the natural
progress of the country itself, the traffic had already reached
last year to within about 37,000 francs, or less than 1,500/.,
o! the amount estimated by Mr. Sopwith as that which
it would attain under all the advantages which the railway
would confer on those districts. Such, in fact, is the
singular rapidity with which the trade of the country is
augmenting, that M. Magis has expressed his conviction
that the production of iron, iron ore, &c., will, during the
present year, amount to double that of 1845; but, even esti-
mating this increase at only 50 per cent., and reserving the
other 50 for the impulse which the opening of the railway,
with all its facilities and reduction of cost, cannot fail to give
to districts already so energetically disposed, a traffic in these
important materials is arrived at of double the amount of
that which was originally estimated to be obtained upon the
opening of the line. It is hardly necessary to point out the
natural inference of this, both as respects the proof of the
sound principle on which the original estimate was formed,
and the consequences to the interests of the shareholders.
The facts will speak for themselves."
The CHAIRMAN, when the report had been read, said—The
unusual length of the report which they had heard, and
copies of which they held in their hands, would render it
unnecessary for him to trespass long upon their time and
attention. But the reason why a report had been drawn up
at such length was the circumstances and the state in which
their line at present was, which made it desirable
that the directors should lay before them such
a report as would enable the shareholders to form
as correct a judgment as the directors themselves on the
whole of the circumstances of the enterprise in which they
were jointly interested; it was in order that the shareholders
might be enabled to judge of the prospects which the fnture
would develope. Besides this, however, it would gratify the
directors to give any further information which might be
deemed necessary in answer to questions put from the body of
the meeting, andhe expected to be fully able to satisfy them.
He thought he might unhesitatingly say that, being now
made aware of the increase of traffic which had grown up in
the district of their line within the last year, the opinion en-
tertained of it was one of the most encouraging character.
He admitted, however, that if they were to look
to England alone, and without taking into conside-
ration the circumstances of last year, he could not be so
sanguine at present when their shares were so depressed in
the market. But they were bound to look at the cause, to
look at what had occurred the year before, when no enter-
prise, however bad, no scheme, however visionary, no
bubble, however airy, but was eagerly grasped at, and
shares immediately bought up—a state of things in which
against projects of even the highest character.
He did
etootllyoooki
theat prospectsthe strie
of
saursepsi-ceirosoe would most naturally excite a panic, and engender
.of thee shaine. The directors had felt bound, he said, to examine,
with carefulness and accuracy, the grounds on which the
notire think,
market
n therefore,
o rder tt o they
d,g oeucgohr correctly
had been made in those data on the subject of traffic,
increase ratio at which it
undertaking was originally proposed, to see whether any
in the case of
originally been taken. This investigation,
and whether that increase was in the
great difficulties, as the profits would themselves form
lines already completed and:in operation, would not present
a correct criterion ; but in the case ,of a line only in the
course of construction, unless one in operation could be found
perfectly analogous, it was fraught with difficulty—a diffi-
culty which would be felt in this kingdom, but much more
tin h
iasnpoat
rhtei
cr ,u aina
rd snpee. c all ley
puenc du
iratrhi
tei
ocircumstances a h
referred
tt acliig to
were
that what he might call the two great manufacturing
districts, iron and coal, lay on different portions of the line,
and had to be brought together for the creation of iron.
The directors then had ascertained the traffic through
the district during the last year, the details of which the
meeting had heard read to them, and they naturally
expected that, if the :line had been constructed,
traffic would have passed over it. If the report was
founded in truth and was correct, it only remained for them
to consider what would be the results.—(Hear, bear.) The
report which had been drawn up on a former occasion by Messrs.
Cubitt and Sopwith was founded on an average of seven years
between 1836 and 1842, and the conclusion to which these
gentlemen had been led by their calculations was, that the
line would return an income of 96,000/. a year, including
in that sum the addition of 25 per cent., which
was no great allowance for the incitement which
the facilities of transit would give to trade. Such
was the estimate of the return given in by these gen-
tlemen, and, according to which, they had started with the
railway; but last year, without any railway being in opera-
tion, the increase of traffic had come to within 1,500/. of the
calculated returns of the railway itself. These facts,
if true, were very important ; the only question was, were
they true? He said the report had not been founded on
casual observations, such as might be submitted to a Com-
mittee of the House of Commons by a gentleman who had
stood at a turnpike-gate and counted the cattle and carts
that passed through ; it was drawn up from the statistical re-
turns of the Belgian Government. So that the report rested on
the authorities recognised by the Government of the country,
on statistics made up with the careful industry for which the
Belgians were celebrated, and the character of M. Magis,
whose official standing in connexion with the Government
would gave him from the suspicion of practising imposi-
tion. As regarded the passenger traffic, that was
a subject more difficult to estimate; Mr. Cubitt and Mr. Sop-
with; had calculated it at the rate of 20/. a day, which, he
thought, was no exaggerated calculation for a line of railway