The Sun.
London, England, 1846-11-07 00:00:00

REGENT'S CANAL COMPANY.

A general meeting of the proprietors in this company
was held yesterday at the offices of the company, City-
road Basin, to consider the advisability of forming a
railway on the banks of the canal, from Paddington to
Limehouse.

J. E. D. BETHUNE, Esq., was called to the chair, who
read the report to the meeting, the substance of which
was that the proposed line, which is to run on the
northern side of the canal, would be 8 miles 7 furlongs
and 3 chains, with a further branch of 1 mile and 6
furlongs, the whole estimated cost for the main line being
640,0001., and that for the branch to Limehouse 45,0001.,
making the total cost of the line 685,0001.
After reading the report,

The CHAIRMAN stated that, in consequence of the Par-
liamentary Commissioners for central termini having re-
ported unfavourably to the formation of a central ter-
minus, it struck the deputy-chairman and himself that
in that report there was an intimation to the
Regent's Canal Company to secure to them-
selves the right of carry ing all the goods
from the outskirts of the metropolis to the Thames.
They had accordingly consulted Mr. Radford, their own
engineer, and the result was, the employment of Mr.
Rendell as the engineer for constructing a line of rail-
way along the banks of their canal. A meeting was
called on the 20th of September, invitations to which
had been sent to the shareholders, at which the repre-
sentatives of 4,000 shares were present, and a report
recommending the immediate application to Parliament
for powers to make the railway was submitted to them.
On Thursday he had had an interview with the head of
the Commissioners of the Woods and Forest, not for the
sake of inducing his Lordship to become a party to
their plan, but to express a desire that his Lordship
should not commit himself to any other party. To this
Lord Morpeth very readily acceded ; and he hoped that
the Government would support this project, by which all
the advantages, without any of the disadvantages, of
a central terminus would be effected. He concluded
by moving the adoption of the report.
Mr. GREEN seconded the resolution.
Mr. ROBINSON inquired on what principle the pro-
perty of the railway was to be apportioned? as he con-
ceived that many of the present proprietors of the canal
would be unwilling to take shares in the railway.
The CHAIRMAN replied, that it was proposed, in the
first place, to mortgage the whole property of the canal
for 500,0001., and to raise the remainder by the issue of
new shares, which were, in the first place, to be allotted
to the whole of the shareholders, and in the event of
any being declined, to allot the shares of the decliners
to those parties who had already taken the new sharesf;
then, in the further event of any shares remaining on
hanii, they were to be thrown into the general share
market. But he should remark that the act of this
meeting would be a corporate act.
To further inquiries of Mr. ROBINSON, as to the power
of compelling unwilling shareholders,
The CHAIRMAN replied that there was already a power
under the Act of the Company to raise 277,000/. further
capital, and, in fact, to make a railway already, for the
Act gave them authority to pass over their route by any
other means than a canal; to erect steam-engines, to
form inclined planes, or to constitute any other facilities
that the company might deem advisable. He should
observe that arrangements had been made to prevent
the preliminary expenses from coming to more than 255.
a share.

In reply to other inquiries, the CHAIRMAN stated that
preliminary operations had been already commenced,
and had been in progress since July. It was
intended to retain the present waterway complete in
all its parts, all the wharfs, all the basins,
and other property, with the slight exception of a little
alteration needed by the line. The railway and canal
were to be conducted by the same directory, and were
indeed, to all intents and purposes, an identical pro-
perty, and in the event of the proprietors being unable
to raise the 685,0001., the Act of Parliament weuld
become a dead letter, but that he did not apprehend.
He further observed, that the whole of the preliminary
expenses would, after this meeting, be payable out of
the corporate funds.
The report was then adopted, with only two dissen-
tients. Resolutions founded on it were passed, thanks
were voted to the Chairman, and the meeting separated.