The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-11 00:00:00

GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA.

A special general meeting of this company was
held yesterday at the City Terminus Hotel, Can-
non-street ; Mr. R. Potter in the chair.
Mr. J. M. Grant, the secretary, read the notice
convening the meeting, for the purpose of consider-

' ing an agreement between this company and the
Buffalo and Lake Huron Company.
The CHAIRMAN said he regretted the short- inter-
val that had occurred between sending out the cir-
cular to the shareholders and the holding of the
meeting. Since the two boards had Nncluded the
terms of the agreement, the solicitoys on both sides
had gone through the agreement clause by clause.
Some of the clauses affected the Buffalo and Lake
Huron Company as between the bond and
shareholders of that company, and it was only
on that day week the agreement was finally
completed by the lawyers ; upon which the cir-
cular, which had been prepared for a fortnight pre-
viously, was at once issued to the bond and share-
holders. He then entered into details as to the
difficulties that had arisen'in making the agreement
between the two companies. The existing agree-
ment was sanctioned by the Canadian Parliament
about six years ago, for 21 years, and there were
now 16 years of the term to run ; but the inter-
pretations of the agreement by both companies
were so 'antagonistic and unworkable it was found
necessary to come to the new agreement which
had been just so far completed. Under the exist-
ing agreement, when the equipment bonds were
I paid in ful!, the Buffalo Company would receive
£40,000 a year, subject to .an increase up to
1872, when they would be entitled to 161 per
cent. of tte net receipts. Under the new agree-
ment the Buffalo Company were to receive up to
the Ist of July, 1869, the payment of £42,500 in
second equipment bonds at par. These bonds
were to be deposited with the chairman of both
companies until the agreement was ratified by the
Canadian Parliament, when the payment of the
£42,500 a year would be continued in per-
petuity, having precedence of the first equip-
ment mortgage bonds. This portion of the
agreement was more favourable to the Buffalo
Company than the corresponding one in the exist-
ing agreement, which depended on the division of
net profits, and the development of the traffic.
When the first preference bondholders were paid
their interest in full the Buffalo Company would
he entitled to £66,000 for the year, and when
the third preference bondholders were paid their
interest in full the Buffalo Company would receive
£82,895 as their proportion of the net profits ; and
when the interest on the fourth preference bonds
was paid t he Buffalo Company would have £106,000
for the year as their proportion of the net profits.
Under the new agreement the Buffalo Company
would not receive more than £66,000 till 1875, but
one half their share capital would be converted into
Grand Trunk ordinary shares, and the other half
into fourth preference bonds, in respect of which
they would receive £36,000 in arrears. The pay-
ment of the £66,000 and the interest on the amount
converted into fourth preference stock would give
the Buffalo Company £90,000, which would be
£16,000 less than under the existing agreement.
The progress of the net receipts on the Grand Trunk
had heretofore been slow, and until they greatly
increased the new agreement would be much better
for the Buffalo and Lake Huron than for the Gran :l
'Flunk Company. Another point was that the ex-
isting agreement would run out in 16 years, and
matters for that time between the two companies
would necessarily continue in an unsettled state,
unless a permanent agreement could be come to at
an earlier period. He did not wish to say more
than was requisite to induce the proprietors to
sanction the new agreement, because if it
should not be carried out, or sanctioned
by the Legislature, anything he might hap-
pen to state would be used adversely against
the Grand trunk Company. If they approved
the agreement the bill might pass the Canadian
Legislature in the course of ten or twelve days, and
he would be prepared at the next general meeting
to submit a proposition for the construction of the
Buffalo Bridge and give them full explanation when
the agreement was sanctioned and finally settled
between the two companies. He concluded by
moving a formal resolution, to the effect that the
agreement of the 2d of February, 1870, between
this company and the Buffalo and Lake Huron
Company be approved and adopted, and also the
bill to confirm the agreement, and authorising the
Board to take all the necessary steps to carry the
resolution into effect.

Mr. GILLESPIE, a director, seconded the resolution

Air. BATTON, the solicitor, read the heads of the
agreement and some of the clauses in full, from
which it appeared that in addition to the £42,500
a year in perpetuity and in priority of the equip-
ment mortgage bonds, the Buffalo Company were
to receive in 1870 £2,500, to rank next after the
second equipment mortgage bonds, and an addi-
tional £5,000 every year until 1874, when the sum
would be £22,500. This sum would be further in-
creased by £l,OOO every year until the year 1879,
when the additional sum would amount to £27,500,
and be continued in perpetuity, making with the
£42,500 a total of £70,000 a year payable half-
yearly to the Buffalo Company.
Mr. CREAK complained that in the account of
the probeedings of the last general meeting issued
by the company, the chairman had attributed
a certain statement to him which he bad never
made.

The CHAIRMAN having acknowledged that it
was a mistake on his part,

Mr. CREAK expressed himself satisfied.
A long discussion ensued, in which Mr. Creak,
Mr. Hesseltine, Mr. J. V. Shaw, Mr. E. J. Hera-
path, Mr. Humber, Mr. Mercer, Mr. Adams, and
other bond and shareholders took part, some
urging that the terms were too good for the Buffalo
Company, while others contended that the ques-
tions which had been years in dispute between the
two companies would be finally settled, and that it
would then be the interest of both to work together
harmoniously in future.

On a show of hands the resolution was carried by
15 against 9 ; and on the motion of Mr. CREAK the
proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors.