The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-30 00:00:00

GREAT NORTHERN OF FRANCE.

An extraordinary general meeting of the share-
' holders of this company was held on Tuesday, Aug.
26, in the Salle Sainte Cecile, Rue de la Chaussee
d'Antin. In the absence of Baron James de Roths-
child, the president, at the moment absent from
Paris, the chair was taken by M. Delbecque. Near
him were seated the directors. The meeting having
been declared duly constituted, 90,519 shares, repre-
senting 617 votes, being present, M. Emile Fereire,
one of the directors, proceeded to read the report.
This document commences by stating the obj ect
of the meeting—namely, to submit to the ratification
of the shareholders a treaty of amalgamation, lately
agreed to provisionally, between the boards of di-
rectors of the Northern and of the Boulogne Railway
Companies. The motives which bad actuated the
Northern Company to consent to the arrangement
in question was these : first, that the competition
hitherto existing between the two companies was
calculated to prove rather injurious than profitable
to both ; and next, that the interpretation given on
the 7th of May last by the Court of Appeal of Paris
to the cahier des charges of the Northern Company,
in the law-suit for some time pending between the
two companies, would have the effect of keeping up
the tariffs on the line to Calais at a rate of 33 per
cent. higher than those on the line to Boulogne; and,
in addition, would subject the Northern Company to
a certain amount of damages, hereafter to be deter-
mined. It was true that an appeal against that deci-
sion could be brought before the Court of Cessation,
and even, if worsted in that proceeding, the Northern
Company would still enjoy the most complete liberty
to fix its tariffs on the line to Dunkirk, as it thought
fit, the line to Calais being alone mentioned in the
article in dispute. But affairs of litigation were pro-
verbially doubtful in their results ; and both compa-
nies had thought it preferable to arrange the matter
amicably. In addition to the reasons just assigned
for agreeing to a treaty of amalgamation, the Northern
Company had deemed itself bound to take into its most
serious consideration the opinion formed on the subject
by the members of the Government, the Central Rail-
way Commission, the Council of State, and the courts
of law. In fact, the announcement of an arrangement
between the two companies had been in every quarter
most favourably received. The following were the
bases of the arrangementagreed to. The treaty, which
consists of six articles, is signed on the one hand by
Baron James de Rothschild, president, and IVIM.
Philippe Rudolphe Hottinguer and Jules Mallet,
directors of the Northern Company; and on the other
by Adrien Calley de St. Paul, president, and MM.
Alexandre Adam and Louis Fontaine, directors of the
Butdov,ne Comp The treaty sets iu: th
from July 1, 1851, the Boulogne Railway Company
shall be amalgamated with the Northern, the said 1

Boulogne Company from that date ceasing to exist.
The conditions of such amalgamation are to be the
following :
Art. 1. The Boulogne Company are to make over
to the Northern Company its concession (now of
92 years) stock, permanent way, all its personality
and freehold property, and all its rights and privi-
leges of every description, with the single exception
of the sum representing the nett profit of its working
from Jan. Ito June 30, 1851. The Northern Com-
pany, on its part, takes to its charge all the
liabilities and engagements of the Boulogne Company
without any reservation whatever. The Boulogne
shares shall be exchanged, at the option of the persons
holding them, either in the proportion of two Bou-
logne shares liberated of .500 f. each, for one Northern
share liberated at 400 f., or one Boulogne share for an
obligation of the Northern Company of 500 f., bearing
interest at three per cent., or 15f. per annum, and the
first half-year's interest coming due on January 1,
1852. The holders of Boulogne shares are to an-
nounce their option within six months from the date
of the definitive ratification ; and, in case of neglect
of that formality, the delegates of the company can
pronounce for them. Should they also neglect to
signify a choice, two Boulogne shares shall receive
one Northern, on the terms mentioned above.

Art. 2. For the execution of the option thus
left to the holders of Boulogne shares, the
Northern Company shall create 75,000 obliga-
tions of 500 f. each, reimbursable in 75 years, by
means of an annual sum of 1,262,5,18 f. 50c., compris-
ing interest and sinking fund. (A table annexed de-
termines the number to be paid off each year.) A
drawing by lot shall be effected each year, in public,
at the general meeting of the Northern Company, to
determine what bonds are to be paid off, and the
first drawing is to take place at the meeting of April,
1852.

Art. 3. The Boulogne Company is to take on itself
all the expense, trouble, and consequences of the ex-
change of vouchers, the Northern Company remaining
completely strangers to the same.
Art. 4. During the whole of the concession of the
Northern Company, the interest and capital of those
obligations shall be paid by it, just the same as any
other debt that the Northern Company might con-
tract hereafter. Should, however, the concession of
the Northern Company cease and determine before
that of the Boulogne Company, the produce and
stock of this last-named company shall be alone an-
swerable for such payments from that period, without
the assets of the Northern Company being in any re-
spect liable for the same.
Art. 5. The present treaty shall not be definitive
and obligatory until approved of by the share-
holders of the two companies, assembled in general
meeting. The ratifications of the shareholders are to
be exchanged, under pain of nullity, before the 30th
of August, the Boulogne Company administering the
affairs of its line until such period, but with the pro-
viso of accounting for such administration to the
Northern Company, in case of ratification by the two
general meetings.
Art. 6. The expense of the present Act shall be
borne by the Northern Company.—Paris, July 9,
1851.

The report then shows how this treaty is favourable
to both the contracting parties—to the Boulogne,
because it ensures to its shareholders a higher revenue
than they now obtain by the working; sod to the
Northern, because it enables that company to get rid
of an injurious competition, and also frees it from the
consequences of the late decision in the Court of Ap-
peal. The report enters into full details, supported
by figures, to prove the advantages of the treaty to
the Northern Company in a financial point of view.
The report then states that the Board seized on the
opportunity thus offered, of giving the shareholders
some information respecting the results of the work-
ing for the first six months of 1851. They must
have perceived from the returns published each week
that the receipts had augmented, notwithstanding
that the general situation of business had notoriously
fallen off within that period. The receipts for the
first six months
of 1851 amounted to 11,233,180 f. 91c.
and for the corresponding period of
1850 to ... 10,570,236 f. 38c.

Showing an augmentation for 1851, of 662,944 f. 53e,
The expenses of the first half year of
1851 amounted to 5,031,598 f. 72e.
And the interest paid to the share-
holders and the State, to ... 3,827,604 f. 43c,

Giving a total of ... ... 8.859,203 f. 15c.
The expenses of the first half year of
1850 amounted to 4,972,453 r. 64c.
And the interest account to ... 4,033,392 f. 41c.

Giving a total cf 9,005,846 r. 05c.
so that the expenses, united to the interest, were in
1851 inferior by 146,042 f. 90c. to those of tha cor-
responding period of 1850. The economy of about
200,000 f. in the interest arose from the funds which
the company had in hand, and which enabled it to
pay by anticipation to the State 4,000,000 f. on the
sums becoming dua in 1851, and 1,000,000 f. on those
of 1852, still leaving at the disposal of the company a
sum of 4,700 000 f. in Treasury bonds of short dates.
As the receipts for the first half year of

1851 amounted to ... 11,233,180 f. 91c.
And the expenaes to 8,859,203 f. 15c.

there remained an excess of ... 2,373,977 f. 76e.
As the excess for the corresponding period of 1850
was only 1,564, 590 f. 33c., the improvement on the
half-year of 1851 was 909,387 E 43e., representing an
augmentation of 21. per share for the first half of the
year. This result also had been arrived at with the
establishment of certain services which had not
existed in the previous year, and with a distance of
1,945,950 kilometres (1,216.217 English miles) gone
over, in place of 1,817,742 kilometres (1,136,090
English miles), or an increased distance of 128,000
kilometres (80,000 English miles). There had been
no increase of expense for that additional distance ;
the cost per kilometre, which had been 11.26 8-10ths c.
in 1848, had declined to if. 02 8-10ths c. in 1849, to
If. in 1850, and, finally, to 89 9 10ths c. in 1851.
Since July 1 to the present time (Aug. 19), the re-
ceipts had improved even still more than in the cor-
responding 50 days of the first hell-year ; the increase
at the beginniug of the year having been 6:1- per cent.,
whereas at the present time it was 12i per cent. The
report concludes by referring to the nomination of
two directors in the place of M. Bonar, deceased, and
of Mr. E. Blount, resigned. From motives of pro-
priety, connected with the proposed treaty, M.
Alexandre Adam, of Boulogne, and Mr. Baxendale,
of England, both directors of the Boulogne Company,
had been provisionally named, and the meeting, it was
hoped, would ratify the appointment.
After the reading of the report had terminated,
A SHAREHOLDER proposed to have the treaty printed
and distributed, and the meeting adjourned to another
day.
M. E. PEREIRE observed that the principal condi-
tions of the treaty had been already published several
times in the journals, and that, consequently, the ob-
servation of the Hon. Shareholder could only refer to
a matter of form.—(Hear, hoar.) But a mere form
ought not surely t 9 lead to delay in the decision on
so important an object as the ratification of a treaty,
the advantage of which to both companies was indis-
putable.—(Hear, hear.)
The same Shareholder that had already spoken,
expressing a desire to persist, the sense of the meeting
was declared against him in the strongest manner.
After some explanation from M. E. PEREIES, on
some points connected with the treaty, the question
of ratification was put from the chair and adopted
almost unanimously, only eight hands being held up
against it.
Authorisation was then given to the board of direc-
tors to create 75,000 obligations as proposed ; and the
nomination of MM. Adam and Baxendale as direc-
tors was confirmed.
The meeting then separted.