The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-24 00:00:00

MIDLAND.

The half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of this line of
railway was held at the station of the company at Derby, on
Saturday. Mr. Hudson, M.P., occupied the chair. The
attendance was unusually large.
Soon atter one o'clock Mr. HunsoN, in company with the
board of directors, entered the room, and called upon Mr.
BULL, the secretary, to read the following report :
" It is gratifying to your directors, that at the termination
of a half-year of peculiar difficulty-, they are enabled to an-
nounce that the gross receipts from the traffic have
amounted to 507,1701. 15s. 3d., exceeding those of the
corresponding half of last year by 22,5091., and leaving a
disposable balance of 195,460/. Bs. 10d. This will enable you to
declare a dividend of 3/. upon each Midland Consolidated
Stock ; 3'. upon each 1001. Consolidated Preferential Stock ;
after the same rate of 6/. per cent. per annum upon thc'•
amount paid (42/. 10s. per share) upon the Erewash Valley ,
shares, and of 2/. 6s. 3d. upon each 1001. Consolidated London
and Birmingham Stock. The opening of the Syston and
I'eterborough line was delayed beyond the period contem-
plated in the last half-yearly meeting, partly from
the unavoidable state of the weather, and partly from the
inability of the contractors for one part of it to complete
their work, and which the company were obliged to take
into their own hands. It was not opened until the Ist of
May. The branches connecting the principal collieries on
the Erewash Valley with that railway are now in rapid
progress. The line from Nottingham to Mansfield, as
far as Sutton-in-Ashfield, a distance of about thirteen
miles, will be opened in a few weeks. Since the last
meeting the directors have contracted for the making
of the branch line from Leicester to the Leicester and Swan-
nington Railway, at Desford, about six miles, and the
works are progressing satisfactorily. The extension from the
Leicester and Swanningtou, at Long-lane, to Burton-upon-.
Trent, will be opened during the autumn. Arrangements
are making for
,the junctions of the Manchester, Sheffield,
and Lincoln Railway with this line at Beighton ; of the
North Staffordshire, at Burton-on-Trent ; of the South
Staffbrdshire, at Alrewas; and of the Oxford, Worcester,
and Wolverhampton line at Abbot's Wood and Stoke. Mr.
Barlow, the resident engineer, reports, ' the main-
tenance contracts on north branch terminated in the
early part of this month, and that this portion of the
in is now in the hands of the company. I anticipate
a saving of from 604 to 70/. per mile per annum will be
effected by this arrangement. On the Birmingham and
Gloucester, twenty-one miles have been relaid, and the re-
mainder is being actively proceeded with. On the Bristol
and Gloucester the improved condition of the line has en-
abled the company to make arrangements with the con-
tractors, by which the cost of the maintenance is re-
duced; but I regret to say that the company does not reap
the full benefit of this reduction, in consequence of the
excessive cost of the repairs and maintenance of the mixed
gauge line between Cheltenham and Gloucester. I have
also to report the completion of the following works, viz.,
the passenger station at Nottingham, the branch line to the
docks at Gloucester, and the short branch to the canal
and stone quarries at Little Eaton. The line and works
are in a very satisfactory state ; they have never since
the opening of the line been in better condition and re-
pair than at this time.' ➢lr. Kirtley, the superintendent
of the locomotive and carriage department reports—' The
locomotive plant, carriage, and waggon stock are in good
condition.' The following Acts have received the Royal
assent :—For making a Branch Line from Little Eaton to
itigley and the neighbouring Collieries, and also empower-
ing the Company to improve and enlarge the Derby,
Masbro', and Burton Stations. For an Extension of
seven miles in length, from Gloucester to Stonehouse,
uniting the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway to the Bris-
tol and Gloucester, rendering unnecessary the break of gauge
at Gloucester, and extending a continuous narrow gauge line
from Birmingham to Bristol. For authorising certain altera-
tions in the Hitchin, Northamption, and Huntingdon Exten-
sion of the Midland Railway, and for other purposes."
[The statement of accounts had for some days been printed
and circulated among the proprietors.]
The Cilammax then rose and said the proposition he had
first to bring before them was, " That the report of the
directors new read be received, adopted, printed, and circu-
lated among the proprietors ;" and in doing so it would be
unnecessary to detain them for more than a few minutes
with any observations of his own. The report spoke for it-
self. He stood there, however, to give to any proprietor

any information which he might require, and Upon One or
two points some explanation might, perhaps, be deemed
necessary. He would not refer to the pamphlet of Mr. Alfred
Smith—the statements therein made had been so completely
answered by his friend Mr. Glyn, that it was altogether
unnecessary to further allude to that publication.—(Hear.)
One or two points with regard to the accounts of the com-
pany he thought it right to refer to. It would be recol-
lected that at a former meeting it was promised that the 40/.
shares should come into the present half-year's dividend,
the directors having entertained a hope that the Syston and
Peterborough line would be opened in January, when, in
fact, it was not opened until May. The consequence was
that the 40/. shares now received six per cent. as old stock,
whereas had they not been brought into stock until the line
was opened, according to the arrangement at the allotment,
they (the shareholders of 401.) would have received
4 per cent. only from January to May, and 6 per cent. from
May to June. There had been a consequent encroachment
upon the revenue which would have been dividable among
the proprietors of the old stock. This explanation he
thought ought to be afforded to the company. When last
he met them he (Mr. Hudson) did not contemplate those
events which had subsequently occurred in Europe
and disturbed in so fearful a degree the commercial interests
of this country. He would not deny that the directors were
in consequence disappointed in the amount of their revenue
for the last half-year. In their passenger traffic there
had been a diminution to the amount of 2,7001., but in
goods and minerals there had been an increase to
the extent of between 23,000/. and 24,000/. There
were none of them, however, but must have ex-
pected that railways, which were essentially commercial un-
dertakings, must suffer with all other interests in the present
circumstances of the times. They (the directors) considered
that during the next half-year they should be enabled to re-
move many of the causes of their present depression. They
should gain by a reduction of their expenses, for there was
no article which they consumed which was not reduced in
price. During the last half-year they had opened twenty-
five additional miles of railway; in the next half-year they
should be able to open forty more; leaving only eight not
completed. He thought it right to state, that the directors,
after giving the subject their best consideration, had deter-
mined not to enter into any new undertaking until they had
again the pleasure of meeting the proprietors.—(Cheers.) Ile
excepted the trifling work necessary to be done in widening
the Pinxton station. By the next half-yearly meeting lie
firmly hoped that the affairs of Europe would be completely
settled, and, as a consequence, trade and commerce revived
He had now to allude, in terms of regret, to the condition
of the expenditure of the company. He referred, in the
first instance, to the heavy charges for maintaining the
way. The cost between Derby and Leeds was between
60/. and 70/. per mile. This work had hitherto been
let to contractors. The board of directors had deter-
mined to take it into their own hands, and lie thought the
experiment would show that the work would be better and
more cheaply done than by contractors. The items of in-
creased expenditure were very considerable, but at the ter-
mination of another half-year—always considerably the best
half-year—they would have, he calculated, at least 100,000/
, more revenue than during the last. One item, that of 12 000 ,
1
' could be satisfactorily accounted for. In the first instance.-
their arrangement for the carriage of goods had beer. too ex-
,
tensive, and their establishment too large. This, d
every. other department, was undergoing the most " indeed,
scrutiny, with a view to economy. There was one item
over which they had no control--he alluded to parochial
rates, In respect to those charges railway Companies were
stated
most unjustly treated, and so he hadin the House of
Commons. On the Eastern Counties line, with which
he was connected, they paid at, the
per annum per mile (twelve acres to the mile), for
could
paro-
chial rates. Such a stet© of things rate of St!.
not remain

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