The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-21 00:00:00

use it was constructed become cognizant of its advan.
tages.
'• The sums above given as the results of the traffic,
neither include any payments from her 2,lejest3's Go-
vernment on account or the Post office service, nor from
the Shrewsbury and Chester Company on acceut:t of
toll. The contract under which her Majesty's Govern-
ment is to pay 30,0001. per annum for a term of years
on account of Post-office service, will not, it is believed,
commence till the line is opened throughout—a con-
struction of the agreement which, of course, equally
postpones the conclusion of that term. Meanwhile, the
amount which the Post- office is to pay for the single
mail, carried daily each way, is to be settled by arbi-
tration.
'• At present, the passage between Hub head and
Kingstown, and Kingstown and Holyhead, aret limited
to two each way eerily, one journey being performed by
the Admiralty vessel which carries the mull, and the
other by the vessels of the company. Negotiations are
pending with the Admiralty for tio.dertakii;g, on your
behalf, the whole Post-office service bvtween the LvVO
countries by the Hob load route, including the transfer
to the company of all tloi l stublithment connected with
that service.
After a full consideration of all the be arings of the
case, in respect to the el:dm of the original shut eholdets
for interest for the period during which the line has
kart partiaily opened, your directors de. en it equitable
that such interest should be continued until the line is
opened throughout, being the same construction as has
been put by hi r Majesty's Government upon the
I'ost-office contract. The stipulated interest upon
the preference shares, of course, commenced on
the Ist of April last. For the sake of conve-
nience, your directors recommend that the payments
to both classes of shareholders should be brought down
to the same date, namely, the 30th June last. If this
recommendation be sanctioned by the meeting, you will
have now to declare a dividend of 4s. lid. per share on
the preference shares, which your directors recommend
to be made payable on the 25th instant. The peyment
of interest on the original shares to the 30th Juue last,
they propose to make payable on the same day as last
year, namely, the 10th of October next.
" Your directors deeming it necessary to take steps to
compel payment of arrears of calls, amounting in the
aggregate to 70,1501., and being desirous to act with
impartiality towards all patties in default, have issued
circulars to all shareholders who are in that predi-
cament, apprising those who have been long in arrear,
that unless payment be made on or before the 10th
October, the directors will be compelled to put in
force the powers of forfeiture with which they are in-
vested, as well as such other measures, in order to
compel payment, as they may be advised to adopt. The
shareholders who have not been so long in default, have
received notice that their arrears are likewise required
to be paid immediately to prevent the forfeiture of their
shares. With reference to the state of the money market
in regard to railway property more especially, your
directors have taken these measures with great reluc-
tance; but acting as the trustees of the general body of
shareholders, they have felt it to be their duty to pro-
tect those who have punctually discharged their liabili-
ties, from any hazard of suffering from the default of
the comparatively few parties who have not fulfilled
their obligations in the like manner.
" In conclusion, your directors whilst deeply regret-
. .

ting the present extreme, yet, as they are persuaded,
undue depreciation of your property, feel that they are
entirely warranted iu assuring )ou of your conviction
that with the completion of the line, and the return,
under the blessing of Providence, of that public prospe-
rity which has now been so long denied to these king-
doms, your income will be such as to justify the enter-
prise which planned this great undertaking, and the pa-
tience with which you have awaited for its fruits."
The following report of Mr. George Stephenson, the
engineer of the company, was also read:—" The only
works now remaining to complete are the following :
About two miles of the Bangor Contract; the second
tube of the Conway. bridge; the Britannia• bridge. The
completion of the Bangor Contract has been much de-
layed by the want of arrangement on the part of the
contractor, together with the circumstance that the three
tunnels, although constructed in hard rock, have, since
the exposure to the action of the atmosphere, indicated
the necessity of arching being introduced; this is now in
a forward state. In the Llandagai Tunnel about eighty
yards will require lining to be made perfectly safe. In
the Bangor Tunnel about 140 yards of side walls, and
400 yards of arching yet remain to be done. In the Bel-
mont Tunnel, out of the entire length (700 vards) about
200 yards will require lining. The other works of
this contract are very inconsiderable, and consist only
of a portion of permanent way, dressing slopes, and
finishing the entrances to the tunnels. In the course of
November all may be completed. The construction of
the second tube of the Conway-bridge is far advanced ;
the castings at the ends are partly inserted, preparations
are being made for floating it into its place, and there is
no doubt that it will be ready for removal by the middle
of October. The pontoons have been strengthened, the
capstans re-erected, and every other arrangement in a
forward state for that purpose. The state of progress in
the masonry of the Britannia-bridge will be gathered
from the following statement :

Cubic feet.
Carnarvon and Anglesea Abutment finished.
Carnarvon Tower—Stone set at present date 185,366
Required to complete...- 22,627
Britannia Tower—Stone set at present date 191,951
Required to complete .. 131,323
Anglesea Tower—Stone set at present date 159,128
Required to complete
Taking the progress %I bich is now making as the guide,
and I do not think that it can be materially accelerated,
we may reckon upon being ready for lifting the first tube
in the course of March or April. The it n work at the
Brittannia-bridge has progressed even more rapidly than
was expected, and the four large tubes are just approach-
ing completion. The whole of the central portion of the
tubes is finished, and the castings at the ends are now
being inserted. The temporary piers are in course of
construction under the first tube to be removed, which
will probably be completed and resting upon them in the
course of six or eight weeks. The scaffolding fur
the end tubes on the Angiesea side is com-
plete, and a large proportion of the iron is
already punched for their immediate commence-
ment. The scaffolding necessary for the tubes on the
Carnarvon side will be erected immediately, to open the
line throughout as rapidly as possible. Every arrange-
ment is being made for floating the tubes, as soon as the
masonry is ready. The extra iron pontoons are partly
constructed, the additional hydraulic press required is
also in hand, and the excavations under the tubes will be
commenced immediately, so that the operaiion of raising
might take place in January, provided the masonry were
sufficiently advanced. The works throughout the whole
of the line are standing in the must satisfactory
manner. The tunnels, sea walls, and viaducts for
carrying the line round the promontories of Penmaen
Bach and Penmaen Mawr have effectually resisted the
action of the sea during several heavy storms, and will,
I have no doubt, continue to do so. The daily passage
of heavy trains through the Conway Tube for tour
months, together with a series of careful observations
as to the effects [produced, have completely established
the correctness of the views upon which the designs for
this and the Britannia were based. I regret that the
cost of these structures has very much exceeded what I
originally calculated upon; on re-considering, however,
the whole subject, and taking into account also the
numerous suggestions that have been made for carrying
a railway across the Menai Straits, I am satisfied that
the method which has been adopted in the
present state
of our knowledge is certainly the most eligible, it' not
the only practicable one."
After some discussion, both reports were agreed to.
The CliAzaxui, in answer to the question of a pro-
prietor, said that the company had now three steam-
boats running, and one nearly ready to run.
Mr. WILLIAMSON was anxious to know who was the
present secretary of the company ? He was also desirous
of knowing the cause of their late secretary 's resignation.
The CHAIRMAN said that the secretary, pro tem.,,waa
Mr. Gifford. With respect the causes of Mr. King's re-
signation, one was a domestic affliction.
Mr. WILLIAMSON said that a rumour had gone abroad
that the cause of Mr. King's resignation was
interference of one of the directors. he undue

The CHAIRMAN observed that when Mr. King sent in
his resignation there was a unanimous feeling of r:Tret
expressed by the board. Mr. King had been presced
to retain his situation, but be said it was impossible, as d
the death of his lather strengthened that dc termination.•
lie could assure the meeting that the resignation of Mr.
King was regretted by every gentleman in the direction.
A resolution empowering the directors to grant de-
bentures instead of preference shares was unanimously
agreed to, as was also a resolution declaring a dividend
of 4s. lid. on preference shares, payable on the lath of
October.
Thanks were then voted to the chairman and directors,
and the meeting separated.

COACH ACCIDINT AT ROTHERHAM.— On Tuesday
an alarming accident happened on Rotherham bridge
by the upsetting of the old Pelham coach, which runs
between the Masbro' Railway station and Gainsbo-
rough. The coach, with a good many passengers, left
the station as usual, in the afternoon, on the arrival of
certain trains, and on reaching the declivity of Rother-
ham bridge one of the di wheels came off, in conse-
quence or which the coach capsized. The passengers
were of course much alarmed, and several were more or
less hurt, but all were able to proceed with the coach as
soon as it had been righted, with the exception of
o a
woman with an infant, who had been violently thrown
from the top of the coach, and, n
safety for the sake of that of her child, hagd sustained
considerable considerable injury. The persons inside' the coach
escapede n tirely
ounrhultN.—ESG/useogi._adonTimes.
SUFFOCATION
_Tuesday evening
J. M. Favell E
an inquest was held by sgo. ,n a
tt r
he b. Ad ly of
u r-
ray's, the Ship public-house, Gateshead
George Thompson, a negro, a
cook and steward on boardtheg€Cdal3:is:PaiteeetasCeadptwaaing
Alexander Ellis (the property of Mr.JohnC'arr, coke
manufacturer), having shipped on board that vessel on
the eve of her last
On Monday, Passage from London to the Tyne.
when she was lying on the Tyne Main
Patenta,) ' ,at Messrs
's,
Messrand L b' hi
. Gaddy
arrangementsbuilding-yard were made for smoking her
with charcoal and sulphur to destroy the rats; and Mr.
Lamb, therefore, at the instance of Mr. Ellis, took
lodgings for the night for all the crew. They had
"- a glass" together on shore, at Mr. Eennison's,
the Neptune public-house, where, at twelve o'clock,
the negro still remained, occupying the neutral
ground between drunk and sober. The rest of the
men slept at their lodgings; he, on Tuesday morning,
was found lying upon a chest in the forecastle of the
ship, dead. Medical aid was instantly procured, but he
was past that—he had perished with the rats. Verdict,
" Died of suffocation." Nothing was kncwn of the poor
African previous to his engagement in London, but his
comrades inferred from his conversation on the passage
that ho had a wife and ehildreu.—Gateshead Observer