The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-18 00:00:00

'ifourtiiiEbttton

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD
RAILWAY.—(THIS DAY.)
The usual half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of
,10 Cheater and Holyhead Railway, was held this
fternoon, at the Euston Station of the. London and
North-Western Railway, Mr. S. M. Peto, M.P., chair-
suan,of the board of directors, in the chair.
The advertisement convening the meeting having
been read, the minutes of the previous meeting were con-
firmed, and the common seal of the company affixed to
the register of proprietors.
The CHAIRMAN said the report and accounts had been
extensively circulated, and he believed they had long
been in the hands of every proprietor. Perhaps there-
isre it would be an unnecessary consumption of time to
read them now, and he would suggest that they should
be taken as read.—(Cries of " Yes, yes.) [The accounts
and report have already appeared in The Sun.] This
was the first half-yearly meeting he had presided at,
and he was on that account naturally anxious
to place before the proprietors a full elucidation
of the principles which guide the course of the direc-
tors, as well as the position of the company and its
future prospects. Having explained the circumstances
under which he had been called upon to undertake the
chairmanship of the company, the Hon. Gentleman pro-
ceeded to the immediate business of the meeting. The
principles upon which he had taken the chair, and upon
which his colleagues had given him their united confi-
dence, was the development of their traffic in every pos-
sible manner consistently with the preservation of the
best possible feeling towards all connecting interests in
the various lines which were themselves united to this
company, either as adjuncts or as allies in capital.—
(Hear, hear.) The board had felt it to be their duty
resolutely to work with the London and North-Western
Company most harmonionsly; and it was doe to that
company to state that they had met the Chester and
Holyhead section of the board with the greatest
amount of liberality and fair dealing. (Cries
of " Hear, hear.") There had been no desire
on the part of that company to take advantage of their
own position, or of the difficulties of the Cheater and
Holyhead Company; and it was to their forbearance,
and their kindness, and their assistance, that the pro-
prietors were indebted for the bright prospects which it
eras his duty and pleasure to reveal to them to-day.
Acting upon the principle or basis of avoiding all
unnecessary competition, and bringing on the Chester
nd Holyhead line the lareest amount of treat that
could be possibly obtained by fair and legitimate means,
the directors had concluded an arrangement with the
London and North-Western and the Dublin Steam
Packet Companies, which ho believed was
fraught with the largest amount of benefit to
themselves, while it would be equally beneficial
to both those companies he had mentioned.—(Hear,
hear.) The London and North-Western Company had
conceded to them a large amount of reduction in the
mileage rate of their working charges, and although
they might have claimed the unexpired ,time of the ex-
isting contract and continued for three year more
to work the Cheater and Holyhead line upon
the old rate, yet upon this board approaching
them to solicit a new arrangement, they at once con-
ceded a reduction which would save the Chester and
Holyhead Company no less than 8,0004 per annum.—
(Cheers.) The accounts.for the half-year just termi-
nated had been made out upon the principle of the old
rate, but had this agreement to which be was referring,
and to which the meeting would be asked to give its
approval to-day, been sealed, there would have been a
saving from the 20th of September last up to the present
time of nearly 2,0001., which of course would have been
placed in the hands of the proprietors to-day in
addition to the dividend to be declared on that
occasion.—(Cheers.) But that saving he viewed
as the least advantage which would be derived
from the united working of the three companies.—
(Rear, hear.) The agreement with the Dublin Steam
Packet Company and the London and North-Western
would enable this; company, to look through from every
part of Ireland to every part of England. with which the
two railway
,companies were connected, which, was an
"advantage that ,cpuld.enly ha appreciated by those who
find 4evgked time and trouble to the investigation of ' the
Stklect. In the next place the sigreerneht. Contemplated
that the Louden and North-Western add the' Dublin
Steam-Packet Companies'should'db all that' in them' fay
to throw upon this line the entirety of the Irish traffic,
and this company, in return, would do all it possibly
could to continue to the London and North-Western
Company, its natural ally, the entirety of the through
traffic, while it left them perfectly free to make
all such arrangements as could conduce to the entire
development ot its local traffic. The arrangement
contemplated the sale of the steam-boats belonging to
the company to the Dublin Steam Packet Company,
upon the arbitration ef individuals seleted on both sides,
and in the event of the arbitrators not being able to
agree, they were to choose an umpire.—(Hear.) Until
the money was paid, this company did not release
its hold upon the boats, while the purchase
Inoue), was to be paid by annual instalments,
the balances carrying interest; so that on) the whole
they stood in a position of perfect security, and on a
sound commercial footing.—(Hear, hear.) Such, then,
-was the effect of the arrangement which had been come
to between the three companies. Now, with regard to
the position of their own line, many of the proprietors
who had not been upon it were possibly not aware that
at the present moment they had no line to Holyhead at
all, for although they had spent 165,000/. on steam-boats,
which, he maintained, all things considered, was a most
judieious expenditure, yet at the present moment their
terminus was a lull mile and a quarter from the end
of the pier at Holyhead.—(Hear, hear.) They
lost by that break, owing to the inconvenience which
re.,ulted from the transfer of the traffic, and parti-
cularly of goods, to the present temporary station, a
large amount of advantage which their line would
naturally present to individuals going to Ireland.—
(Hear, hear.) The directors had, however, made ar-
raugements for getting rid of this obstacle, and he might
'state in parenthesis that they were entirely indebted to
the exertions and influence of his colleague Mr.
Stanley, for being able to carry out those
. arrangements.—(Hear, hear.) They had agreed for the
construction of a temporary line; without any charge
prom her Majesty's Government; and though the ar-
rangement would secure, with the new goods station and
a, new passenger station, and the erection of a hotel
ead refreshment rooms, and everything necessary
to render the line popular in connexion with
:he immediate transit of the steam-boats, it was calcu-
leted that the expenditure for all this would not exceed
:.8.0004 ; and when he stated to them that this
eenount of expenditure, and its interest would
be repaid in five years by the saving it
rested effect in the existing system of removing
goods by carts, and in the conveyance of passengers
y omnibuses, he thought the proprietors would have
reason to congratulate themselves upon the successful
mid advantageous nature of the arrangement.—(Hear.)
They had also made arrangements, in pursuance of
.:he authority given at the last half-yearly
meeting, with Colonel Pennant by which extensive
- slate quarries were put in connexion with the railway,
and a similar arrangement had been concluded with
Mr. Ashton Smith for placing Carnarvon quarries also
in connexion with the line; and the company was now
in Parliament seeking powers, with the view of extending
the line to the port of Carnarvon.—(Hear.) Arrange-
inents were also pending with various companies in the
midland district, by which from one point alone they
would obtain mineral traffic to the extent of 100,000
tons, which would have to travel over the whole length of
their lints. That was a fact which would convince the
meeting that the mineral traffic of this company was
wholly untouched.—(Hear.) They had also arranged
for w -0 siding" at Carnarvon; and the party for whom
this "'riding" was to be constructed would pay them
101 l per cent.
,annually on the outlay. This also
was foe the purpose of . accommodating the mineral
traffib,, and when he ,remembered that one indi-
vidual :ague daring the, present year had sent upwards
of 20,000 tons-of slate flags to London by the line,
he thought the meeting would agree with him
that by these arrangements they were se-
cudng an immense source of income, which
at present was perfedtly and entirely undeveloped.—
(Rear.) While he was on the subject as to developing
u affic, he would refer to a circumstance which occurred
la the moment to his mind which he thought reflected
great credit on one of the officers of the company.
Although he occupied the humble situation of a station-
master, he thought it right to mention his name on the
present occasion to stimulate others to a similar course
of conduct, and to show the proprietors the advantage
of having zealous and faithful servants. The station
tauter nt Oarnarvon observing the large quantity of shell-
!let that abounded on the coast, endeavoured to induce
the fisher= en to engage in the trade of selling that
Pa tienlar commodity but failing in that attempt he ap-
Pliedl° the company to invest a small sum with the vievelof
eecertairane, th •
e practicability of establishing such a
trade; and:.wh
oetau he told the meeting that at the present
moment tihr,
hepatany were carryin from that station
alone to Il:aece sr between 150,000 and 200,000 shell-
ash per wealth, be,
thought the
. meting would agree with
uim that the
217kPrimentad been most successful.
The result had been not h
only to increase their profit,
:nd the trade employed
not only the fishing population,
eat the arhole cf the women and •
and sorting the fish for children in preparing
tqatket- and thus, besides
contributing to the interest and welfare of that parti-
Pular Pam of the population, it added
to their coffers,
pprnancial
and those of the London ryea lie now aoached
and North-Western, no less
titan 2,0001. per annum.---cri
financial
4uother l ranch ot his subject, that was
the
W hen
their
position .f the company. they last met they
-Tere in Ono position of a corporation
crushed
with the
amount f its debts, and they did notu then see
ffieacru,lthieeasr.)
way clearly out of their diffieuiltiens.o--(di
the pre: tent moment they had whAatt.
ever— (Cheers)—for they had, by the assistance of
and by the exertions of
tne Nor ;h-Western Company. a
iedividusil members of the board in obtaining temporary
"018, linen placed in a position of safety and security,
and th.e meeting of to-day would be enabled to create
the preferential stock which was alluded to on a for-
mer but not at the original interest, but
a.such a rate of interest as their improved
prospects would command, and which he had no doubt
ttke money market would readily respond to.—(Hear,
hear.) It had been said that the board had created these
shares at too low a rate of interest, but when he stated
living investigated
to them, that, after h • • e
gate. every cir-
cumstance connected with the railway taking into
eonsideration the extension of the line at Holyhead
taking also into account a fact which he bad on the
authority of the engineer engaged at Holyhead, that one
'arm' of. the new harbour would shortly be extended
720 feet, giving twenty-U(1 feet
depth of water
at the ebb tide, thus enabling the American