The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-26 00:00:00

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE
EDINBURGH AND NORTEERN.

case, the money being raised on the security of the
Aberdeen Railway Company, backed by the Edin-
burgh and Northern, the North British, and the York
and Midland Railway Companies. And surely if it
was a good transaction for these railway companies, it
was a good transaction for bile Edinburgh and
Northern. They had the Aberdeen line, which was
58 miles in length. The loans in tot° of that com-
pany amounted to 369,0001., and the interest of that
sum at 6 per cent. gave an amount of 22,0001. a year,
which they required to raise to meet these loans. The
preference stock which it was proposed to raise was
276,0001., and this at 6 per cent. would be 16,6001. a
year. Therefore they required to raise 36,8001. in order
not only to-meet the 6 per cent. on the loans which the
Aberdeen Company were empowered to raise, but also to
meet the interest on the preference stock. Now, 58
miles of railway, with 2.5/. a mile of revenue, which
was a very low estimate on the gross revenue of the
line, and much less than the calculations made by the
Aberdeen directors, would give a revenue of 84,0001.
per annum. Then, if they allowed 45 per cent. for
working expenses, this would make a deduction of

37,0001., leaving 47,0001. a year of revenue to meet
38,0001, or a surplus of 9,000/.—(llear.) They
would see that, as regarded the revenue and working
expenses, he had understated what would, in all like•
lihood, he the result in the one cas•, while he had
overstated it in the other. He was also enabled to
state that the affairs of the Aberdeen Company were
in a position in the highest degree satisfactory. He
concluded by proposing a series of resolutions, to the
effect that the report should be approved; that the
directors should be authorised to subscribe, on behalf
of the company, for 113,0001. of the stock of the
Aberdeen Company, and provide their proportion of
the plant for working that line; and that they be
authorised to interpose for this purpose the security of
the• Edinburgh and Northern Company, and to take
all' other measures for completing the transaction, on
the.distinct understanding that the stock so taken
should be preferential.

Da. AItauLANE ;as of opinion that whether it in-
creased the traffic to the event expected or not, it
was a right thing for the directors to see that they
had a continuous line to Aberdeen.
The CUAIRMAN said, he believed that the Aberdeen
directors were perfectly willing to enter into the ar-
rangement, on the understanding that the 276,0001
should he paid into a separate account, to be under
the control of the companies who were responsible
for that advance; and that this moneti• should be
applied solely for the purpose of completing the line.
They had also the assurance of the engineers that they
could complete the line for 276,0001., with the sums
which they were authorised to borrow, and which he
(the chairman) had included in his estimate of the
expenie which would attach to this undertaking.
Sir J. GLADSTONE moved an amendment that the
resolutions proposed by the chairman be not adopted.

After some observations from Mr. Emaca,
and. Colonel GRA/lAM,
Mr. J. AYTOUN suggested that there should be
added to the chairman's resolutions a recommendation
to the effect that the three companies should have a
rep:•esentation in the Aberdeen board pro rata, and
equal in number with the Aberdeen direction; and
aho that the engineers of the line (Messrs. Locke and
Errington, or engineers of equal eminence) certify
that, to the best .of their judgment, the line can he
completed south of the Dee, with stations, at the
required sum of 276,0001.

after a few words from Mr. JAMES COWAN, ex-
pressing the utmost confidence in the directors being
able to raise the money,
The CHAIRMAN assented to the addition recom-
mended by Mr. Aytoun to the motion.
A vote was then taken on the motion of the chair.
man and the amendment of Sir John Gladstone,
when 493 votes were given for the motion, and 168
for the amendment. This was independently alto-
gether of proxies,. 1,375 of which had been received
in favour of the motion. The motion was accordingly
declared to be carried.
After a vote of thanks to the Chairman, the meeting
broke up.

CELEBRATION OF THE OPENING OF THE GREAT
NORTHERN.—The general celebration and rejoicing
in commemoration of this event takes place to-day
(Thursday) at Boston, Spalding, and other towns in
Lincolnshire. The day is to be observed as a general
holiday by the closing of shops, by festivities, and
gratuitous railway trips. The grand dinner takes
place in the theatre at Boston, which has been boarded
over and decorated, as on the occasion of the great
dinner in 1841. All the available seats have been
secured, and amongst those who have signified:their
intention of being present are the Earl of Yarbo-
rough, the Hon. 0. Duncombe, Mr. Dennison, M.P.,
Mr. Packe, I%LP., Mr. Christopher, M.P., Mr. B. B.
Cabbell, M.P., Mr. Peto, M.P., the Mayors of Bos-
ton, Louth, Grimsby, and Lincoln, Captain Laws,
R.N., and numerous other gentlemen.
CHANGING IHE NAME OF A STATION.—This, the
first instance upon record of change in the name of a
railway station, comes into operation on the Eastern
Counties Railway on the Ist of November, when the
AVenden station, 43 miles down the line, and the
stopping place for passengers to Saffron Walden will
in future be known by the name of " Audley's End."
STOCKTON AND DARLINGITON.—It is said that Mr.
Hudson is prepared to lease the Stockton and Dar-
lington, a line that has always paid 10 per cent. since
its opening in 1535, and that is almost exclusively
devoted to the conveyance of coals from the coal-
fields of Durham and Stockton, at from 10 to 15 per
cent.

Touxs AND NANTES.—The works of this line have
advanced so rapidly that it will be opened for the
transit of goods in the course of December next.
CHATEAUROUX AND LIIHOGES.--,The Minister of
Public IVorks has just decided that another credit of
1,300,000 francs shall be applied to this line. In
consequence of this grant the rrorlig7 which have
recently made but little progress, will be continued
with all possible activity along the whole line.
BOURGEi.—The section of the line from Bourges
to the Viaduct of the Allier is rapidly proceeded
with. For some time pa3t the works have been
finished as far as Nerondes, and the rest of the dis-
tance is fast progressing.
CALEDONIAN RAILWAY.—We are informed that
some of the shareholders in this undertaking are
making preparations to oppose the directors granting
any other guaranteed dividends than those already
sanctioned by Parliament to other railway companies,
on the ground that the traffic on the lines will be in-
adequ•ste to meet the proposed additional liabilities
con templatad by the directors.

meeting>A `special of this company-Wa-s-held on
Tuesday at Edinburgh, Mr. J. Balfour in the chair,
for the purpose of considering and determining on a
proposal to take a certain amount of preferential stock
in the Aberdeen Railway.
After the Secretary read the report,
The CHAIRMAN said the questions they had to dis-
cuss were simply these—was the arrangement which
they proposed to enter into with the Aberdeen Com-
pany one for the interest of the Edinburgh and
Northern Company, or was it not ?—and, secondly,
were the terms of that arrangement such as could be
entered into with safety ? Now, he had no hesitation
in saying that an arrangement such as the one pro-
posed would materially strengthen the position of the
company; for by it they enabled the Aberdeen Com-
pany to cbtain sufficient funds to complete their line,
and thus to complete the great line of communication
to Aberdeen, which was their great northern point.
They were all aware that at present the works on that
line were at a stand-still for want of funds to carry
them on. The object, therefore, was to provide funds
to carry these works on. He maintained that this
arrangement placed them in no difficulty at all; that
it was a secure and a safe one; that the security was
ample for the interest which was guaranteed on the
stock ; and that there would not be any difficulty in
raising the funds which they required for their part
of the transaction, which amounted to 113,0001. It
was a mistake to suppose that any portion of the funds
of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway Company
would be appropriated for this measare. The direc-
tors were at all times unwilling to interpose their
personal security, except where it was absolutely ne-
cessary ; but they had no hesitation to do so in this